Post by brassmonkey on Jun 2, 2009 8:19:54 GMT -5
Was a Muslim convert... I love this cult more every day!
Police: Man upset at military shoots 2
Little Rock police inspect the scene of a shooting outside a military recruitment office that left one soldier dead and another hurt Monday.
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
A Muslim convert who said he was opposed to the U.S. military shot two soldiers outside an Arkansas recruiting station, killing one, police said Monday.
"This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that's why he did what he did," Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.
"He has converted to (Islam) here in the past few years," Hastings said. "We're not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in the military.
"He saw them standing there and drove up and shot them. That's what he said."
Police Chief Stuart Thomas said Pvt. William Long, 23, of Conway was killed. Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville was wounded and in stable condition, Thomas said.
Police arrested Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, of Little Rock, Thomas said. The suspect was previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, he said.
The soldiers wore fatigues, had recently completed basic training and volunteered to help attract others to the military, Thomas said.
He said the gunman targeted the military but was not believed to be part of a broader scheme.
Interviews with police showed that Muhammad "probably had political and religious motives for the attack," the police chief said.
Thomas said Muhammad would be charged with first-degree murder, plus 15 counts of committing a terroristic act. He said those counts result from the gunfire occurring near other people.
Hastings said the attacker pulled up in a car outside the Army-Navy recruiting office around 10:30 a.m. and fired at the soldiers outside.
According to the Associated Press, the vehicle was stopped on Interstate 630 a short time later, and the suspect was taken into custody. Police found an assault rifle in the vehicle.
Jim Richardson, the manager at a drug store around the corner from the Army-Navy center, said people at the store didn't realize anything was amiss until they heard sirens outside.
"Nobody heard any gunshots," Richardson said.
Lt. Col. Thomas Artis of the Oklahoma City Recruiting Battalion, which oversees the Little Rock office, said the victims were not regular recruiters.
He said they were serving two weeks in the Little Rock office.
As part of the Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program, the soldiers were sent to "talk to friends, folks in the local area. They can show the example, 'Here's where I was, and here is where I am,' " Artis said.
Artis said neither of the soldiers had been deployed for combat.
Link
Police: Man upset at military shoots 2
Little Rock police inspect the scene of a shooting outside a military recruitment office that left one soldier dead and another hurt Monday.
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
A Muslim convert who said he was opposed to the U.S. military shot two soldiers outside an Arkansas recruiting station, killing one, police said Monday.
"This individual appears to have been upset with the military, the Army in particular, and that's why he did what he did," Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.
"He has converted to (Islam) here in the past few years," Hastings said. "We're not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in the military.
"He saw them standing there and drove up and shot them. That's what he said."
Police Chief Stuart Thomas said Pvt. William Long, 23, of Conway was killed. Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville was wounded and in stable condition, Thomas said.
Police arrested Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, of Little Rock, Thomas said. The suspect was previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, he said.
The soldiers wore fatigues, had recently completed basic training and volunteered to help attract others to the military, Thomas said.
He said the gunman targeted the military but was not believed to be part of a broader scheme.
Interviews with police showed that Muhammad "probably had political and religious motives for the attack," the police chief said.
Thomas said Muhammad would be charged with first-degree murder, plus 15 counts of committing a terroristic act. He said those counts result from the gunfire occurring near other people.
Hastings said the attacker pulled up in a car outside the Army-Navy recruiting office around 10:30 a.m. and fired at the soldiers outside.
According to the Associated Press, the vehicle was stopped on Interstate 630 a short time later, and the suspect was taken into custody. Police found an assault rifle in the vehicle.
Jim Richardson, the manager at a drug store around the corner from the Army-Navy center, said people at the store didn't realize anything was amiss until they heard sirens outside.
"Nobody heard any gunshots," Richardson said.
Lt. Col. Thomas Artis of the Oklahoma City Recruiting Battalion, which oversees the Little Rock office, said the victims were not regular recruiters.
He said they were serving two weeks in the Little Rock office.
As part of the Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program, the soldiers were sent to "talk to friends, folks in the local area. They can show the example, 'Here's where I was, and here is where I am,' " Artis said.
Artis said neither of the soldiers had been deployed for combat.
Link
