Harrisburg shooter’s motivation debated
Act of terrorism among theories
A top federal official branded it terrorism. Dauphin County, Pa., authorities cautioned against “wild speculation.” And lawmakers from Harrisburg to Washington say they’ll wait to see what develops.
Four days after Ahmed ElMofty, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Egypt, opened fire just steps from the Pennsylvania Capitol in what officials have described as a deliberate attack on police, investigators in Harrisburg continue to piece together a profile of the man — and, in the process, have run headlong into a politically charged debate over how to describe his act of public violence.
Tyler Q. Houlton, acting spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, took to Twitter over the weekend to declare the shots ElMofty fired Friday night at three groups of officers a “terror attack.”
Local authorities, meanwhile, cautioned that they had not completed their investigation and didn’t know what motivated the man’s violent turn.
The distinction may seem trivial. But determining what types of violence to label “terrorism,” what conclusions to draw from such a distinction, and when in an investigation it is appropriate to use that word has become particularly fraught when mass shootings and public attacks occur with alarming frequency.
In El-Mofty’s case, for instance, authorities have said that the 51-year-old security guard had traveled to the Middle East in October, although it remains unclear for what reason, or when he returned to the United States.
They have made no public pronouncements linking his shooting spree to a wider cause such as Islamic extremism or suggesting that he was inspired by or acting in concert with international terrorist groups.
Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said that determining a motive for the
shooting spree remains the top priority.
“Terrorism link is still under investigation,” Mr. Marsico said in a text message Tuesday afternoon. “Authorities conducting more interviews today and hope to have more information to talk about in the next 24 hours.”
One thing is clear, Mr. Marsico PennLive.com on Sunday: There is “no doubt” that ElMofty meant to target police.
El-Mofty’s shooting spree began at the start of Friday’s rush hour as he fired several shots at a Capitol Police officer, hitting his cruiser multiple times but missing him.
About a half-hour later, El-Mofty surfaced again, shooting at and hitting a state police trooper before fleeing into a residential area.
There, he opened fire with two handguns on pursuing officers, investigators have said. The officers fired back, striking and killing him.
Thetrooper was the only officer injured in the attack. She was released from a hospital Saturday.
Thattold same day, Mr. Houlton, the Homeland Security spokesman, criticized in a tweet the United States’ family-based immigration policy known as “chain migration,” through which immigrants already admitted to the country can sponsor relatives for visas.