Three dead as man goes on killing spree in California
LOS ANGELES: A 39-year-old man went on a shooting spree in the central California city of Fresno on Tuesday, killing three people and injuring another before being arrested, authorities said.
Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer told reporters that the suspect, an African-American named Kori Ali Muhammad, shouted Allahu Akbar -- God is great in Arabic -- as he was being taken into custody.
But he said it did not appear the killings were an act of terrorism and a probe was under way to determine if they qualified as a hate crime.
He said Muhammad, who used the alias Black Jesus and was wanted in the killing last week of an unarmed security guard outside a motel in the city, had indicated in postings on his Facebook page that he hated white people and the government.
This was a random act of violence, Dyer said. These were unprovoked attacks by an individual who was intent on carrying out homicides today.
He said all the victims were white males and there was every reason to believe Muhammad had acted alone.
Lieutenant Mark Hudson, a police spokesman, told AFP the FBI had been contacted about the killings.
A spokeswoman for the FBI declined comment, referring media inquiries to local police.
Dyer said Tuesdays shooting spree began downtown at around 10:45 am local time when one man sitting in a truck was shot through the passenger window.
The other victims were shot nearby during a rampage that lasted about a minute and during which up to 16 rounds were fired.
