Yet “a prosecutor said Muhammad admitted shooting Long and another soldier ‘because of what they had done to Muslims in the past.'”
Exclusive information about the shooter here.
“Suspect pleads not guilty in soldier’s death,” by Noah Trister for Associated Press, June 2:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A Muslim convert accused of killing a soldier in a “political and religious” attack on a military recruiting center pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a capital murder charge and was ordered held without bail.
Abdulhakim Muhammad, 23, of Little Rock, was charged in Monday’s death of Pvt. William Long, 23, of Conway outside an Army-Navy Career Center in a west Little Rock shopping center.
A prosecutor said Muhammad admitted shooting Long and another soldier “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past.”
An FBI-led joint terrorism task force based in the southern United States has been investigating Muhammad since he returned to the United States from Yemen, a law enforcement official said. The suspect had been arrested and jailed in Yemen at some point for using a Somali passport, the official said….
Police Chief Stuart Thomas said Muhammad, previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, was a convert to Islam and was not part of any broader scheme to attack the American military.
Deputy Prosecutor Scott Duncan said Muhammad told investigators that “he would have killed more soldiers had they been in the parking lot.” Long and Ezeagwula were targeted as they stood outside the recruiting center smoking cigarettes….
“We believe that it’s associated with his disagreement over the military operations,” Thomas said….
Police arrested Muhammad along a highway moments after the shootings. Police said an assault rifle and other weapons were found in his vehicle.
In addition to the capital murder count, Muhammad is accused of committing 16 counts of a terroristic act. Thomas said most additional counts resulted from the gunfire occurring near other people….