Man shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ kills three in California shooting spree
Police catch suspect, identify him as Kori Ali Muhammad, who told police he hates white people
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FRESNO, California — A man shot and killed three people on the streets of downtown Fresno on Tuesday, shouting “God is great” in Arabic during at least one of the slayings and later telling police that he hates white people, authorities said.
Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, was arrested shortly after the rampage, whose victims were all white, police said. He also was wanted in connection with another killing days earlier, in which a security guard was gunned down at a Fresno motel after responding to a disturbance.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters that Muhammad shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) as he was being taken into custody.
Lieutenant Mark Hudson, a police spokesman, told AFP the FBI had been contacted about the killings and it was too early to say whether they were terror-related.
Dyer said the victims were shot minutes apart in close proximity in areas around downtown. He said Muhammad made other statements to police but he did not disclose them.
The shooting happened outside a Catholic Charities building, but spokeswoman Teresa Dominguez said the charity doesn’t believe the suspect was tied to the nonprofit organization.
Sayed Ali Ghazvini, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, said Muhammad was not a member of his congregation and he did not recognize him. The imam said he is consulting with other faith leaders.
#BREAKING: Police: "Too early to say" if Fresno shooting "involves terrorism," but suspect yelling "Allahu akbar" gives that indication pic.twitter.com/VBlMmitXsz
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) April 18, 2017
“We’re kind of shocked and surprised for what happened,” Ghazvini said. “We are very sorry for this to happen. We offer condolences for the victims, we pray for the victims and their families.”
Following the shooting, Fresno city spokesman Mark Standriff said county offices were placed on lockdown, and people were urged to shelter in place.
The shooting took place Tuesday morning near a Catholic Charities building.
Ashlee Wolf of Catholic Charities told the Fresno Bee newspaper (http://bit.ly/2oK6Vzc ) that the shooting happened at a bus stop near the charity.
Wolf says the charity doesn’t believe the shooter was tied to Catholic Charities.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press
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