3 dead in Fresno shooting spree
FRESNO, Calif. — Three people were shot and killed after a man went on a shooting spree in downtown Fresno and at Catholic Charities on Tuesday in central Fresno, police Chief Jerry Dyer said.
The 39-year-old suspect, identified as Kori Ali Muhammad, is in custody, Chief Dyer said. He is also suspected in the fatal shooting of a security guard outside a Motel 6 in central Fresno on Thursday.
Chief Dyer said Mr. Muhammad, who is black, wanted to kill as many white people as possible after seeing he was wanted in the death of the security guard.
Police say Mr. Muhammad is known for advocating black separatism and making militant comments on social media, and that when surrendering to authorities he uttered the phrase “Allahu akbar,” a common positive refrain uttered by Muslims in prayer or in celebration that has also been linked to terrorist attacks.
Chief Dyer said the shootings had “nothing to do with terrorism in spite of the statement he made.”
“This is solely based on race,” Chief Dyer told reporters. “… We believe it is a hate crime, definitely a hate crime.”
Mr. Muhammad’s father, Vincent Taylor, told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that his son believed that he was part of an ongoing war between whites and blacks, and that “a battle was about to take place.”
A psychiatrist who examined Mr. Muhammad about 10 years ago believed he had psychosis.
He is facing four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, Chief Dyer said Tuesday. He said Mr. Muhammad had expressed dislike of whites; all of the victims were white men. Chief Dyer called it a “random act of violence.” Police described the people killed Tuesday as simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Two of the people shot outside Catholic Charities may have been clients of the social service agency, not employees, Chief Dyer said. The third victim was a Pacific Gas & Electric employee. Another person was shot at but not injured.
Chief Dyer said the gunman walked up to a PG&E truck on North Van Ness Avenue about 10:45 a.m. and shot the passenger repeatedly. The driver of the pickup then sped to Fresno police headquarters. The second shooting was only a few seconds later and was at Van Ness and Mildreda Street, where the gunman shot at but missed a resident. The gunman then turned onto Fulton Street and fired several rounds at another man, striking and killing him, Chief Dyer said. After reloading at a bus stop, the gunman then shot and killed a man in the parking lot of Catholic Charities on North Fulton Street, he said.
Chief Dyer said Mr. Muhammad approached a vehicle in between shootings, but he spared the lives of two women who were in the car with a child. The women were Latinas, he said.
No weapon has been found, Chief Dyer said.