This morning, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 24, a Little Rock man formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and 15 counts of engaging in terrorist activities. Muhammad is accused of shooting to death Pvt. William Long, 24, of Conway, Ark., and wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, Ark., yesterday outside an Army/Navy recruiting center, according to CNN. Ezeagwula is in stable condition and is expected to recover.
The terrorist counts come from Muhammad’s shooting at an occupied building, according to the story. Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas told CNN that Muhammad converted to Islam as a teenager, and that he had “political and religious motives,” for the shooting that specifically targeted military personnel. Thomas also said that police believe he was acting alone out of anger over the killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. They recovered three weapons—a semi-automatic rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a pistol—from his SUV.
According to a New York Times report, Muhammad has confessed to the shootings:
At the hearing, a deputy prosecutor, Scott T. Duncan, said Mr. Muhammad had told investigators that he fired repeatedly at the soldiers on Monday morning “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past.”
“He stated he would have killed more soldiers if they had been in the parking lot,” Mr. Duncan said, reading from a police report.
Muhammad is being held without bond. The Arkansas FBI has opened an investigation, but has not announced whether they have jurisdiction, yet. The Times story states that Muhammad may already be under an FBI investigation:
Quoting an unnamed law enforcement official, The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Mr. Muhammad had been arrested and jailed in Yemen at some point for using a Somali passport. A joint terrorism task force led by the F.B.I. has been investigating Mr. Muhammad since he returned to the United States from Yemen, the official said.
Army officials told the Times that “bomb threats and vandalism against recruiting offices are not uncommon. Last year, a small bomb shattered the glass facade of the military recruiting station in Times Square.”
Previous Comments
I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve had my fill of holy warriors this week.
#148363 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Jun 2 2009
What’s amazing is that ya’ll have actually hinted he had a religious motive for the shooting. Something the “media” hasn’t even wanted to touch.
#148405 | Author: Ironghost | Date: Jun 3 2009
We’re not hinting at anything Iron. The shooter said it himself if you believe the deputy prosecutor and the police reports say. Lots of news outlets are describing Muhammad as being motivated by religious and political issues.
#148407 | Author: Ronni_Mott | Date: Jun 3 2009
Some didn’t mention it, which is why I said what I did.
#148415 | Author: Ironghost | Date: Jun 3 2009
You’re right, Iron, especially the early reports. I think that at this point it’s pretty much a done deal.
#148417 | Author: Ronni_Mott | Date: Jun 3 2009
Hey, we have no reason to whitewash on this—it sounds like he’s a religious zealot who committed a horrifying crime. He deserves all the condemnation he can get for twisting religion in such a way, to defend his heinous acts.
#148420 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Jun 3 2009
From the reports it looks like this terrorist had every intention of killing more people. I’m glad he was caught before more lives were lost.
#148512 | Author: Jeff Lucas | Date: Jun 5 2009
and that he had “political and religious motives,” for the shooting… I don’t think that is a hint, dear. I think that’s more of a baseball bat over the head. 🙂 One thing I like about the JFP: they remove the bushes that other people beat around.
#148513 | Author: Lady Havoc | Date: Jun 5 2009
One thing I like about the JFP: they remove the bushes that other people beat around. That’s classic, Lady. Thanks!
#148518 | Author: Ronni_Mott | Date: Jun 6 2009
I like that, too. Thanks, Lady! This is certainly our goal, and we really don’t care whose bushes they are.
#148519 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Jun 6 2009
Shouldn’t the local Muslim community publicly denounce this shooting?
#148524 | Author: Jeff Lucas | Date: Jun 6 2009
It’d be nice, Jeff. You won’t see me holding my breath for it, however.
#148525 | Author: Ironghost | Date: Jun 6 2009
Don’t be quick to assume. The Muslim community, locally and nationally (and internationally) regularly denounce violence and extremism performed in their name. Why wouldn’t they? All faithful people should do the same.
#148527 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Jun 6 2009
As do Pro-Lifers, but I don’t see Muslims being dragged through the mud on all the talk-shows on TV.
#148528 | Author: Ironghost | Date: Jun 6 2009
You apparently don’t watch FOX, then.
#148531 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Jun 7 2009
Nope: we don’t. Mostly CNN. Maybe we should, though.
#148532 | Author: Lady Havoc | Date: Jun 7 2009
I can’t remember where I heard it from, but I heard someone say that if federal authorities are being sent to guard abortion clinics, why not do the same for military recruiting offices. Good point, but people normally aren’t threatened with physical violence when going into a recruiting office. Plus, logistically, there are so many recruiting offices, it’d be quite expensive to do so. Fox News is the devil, BTW.
#148534 | Author: golden eagle | Date: Jun 7 2009
MSNBC is the PR arm of the Democratic Party, then. 😀
#148535 | Author: Ironghost | Date: Jun 7 2009
Why not just arm the recruiters? They are soldiers, they have firearms training. I would have assume somebody there was already armed.
#148537 | Author: BubbaT | Date: Jun 7 2009
I would’ve assumed the same thing, Bubba. Even if they were, would they have been in the position to stop the attack?
#148538 | Author: golden eagle | Date: Jun 7 2009
Nothing would have stopped the attack, but they could keep it from escalating into more people being killed.
#148541 | Author: BubbaT | Date: Jun 7 2009
Ironghost, although I’m sure they don’t advocate such violent acts, I also wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for a statement, or a demand for one either.
#148544 | Author: Jeff Lucas | Date: Jun 7 2009
I agree, Bubba. Condemnations (like apologies) cost nothing, and they can help.
#148545 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Jun 7 2009
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
