Last night Jihad Watch broke the news that Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who shot one soldier and wounded another at an Arkansas military recruiting station yesterday, studied jihad in Yemen. I was just on Fox TV this morning discussing this. Now ABC confirms this, and adds that the FBI was tracking this guy — but obviously not closely enough.
“Recruiter Shooting Suspect Under FBI Investigation: Man Accused of Killing One Recruiter, Wounding Another, Spent Time in Yemen,” by Richard Esposito, Pierre Thomas and Jack Date for ABC News, June 1 (thanks to all who sent this in):
The suspect arrested in the fatal shooting of one soldier and the critical injury of another at a Little Rock, Ark., Army recruiting booth today was under investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorist Task Force since his return from Yemen, ABC News has learned.
The investigation was in its preliminary stages, authorities said, and was based on the suspect’s travel to Yemen and his arrest there for using a Somali passport.
The suspect, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 24, had changed his name from Carlos Leon Bledsoe after converting to the Muslim faith.
Law enforcement sources said he offered no resistance when Little Rock police arrested him today.
It was not known what path Muhammad, a U.S. citizen who is a recent convert to Islam, had followed to radicalization.
“At this point it appears that he specifically targeted military personnel, but there doesn’t appear to be a wider conspiracy or, at this point in time, any indication that he’s a part of a larger group or a conspiracy to go further,” Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said.
But, Muhammad’s travels overseas have sparked a major international investigation. Officials say it is too early to know for certain if he indeed acted alone….
When police stopped Muhammad’s vehicle, the suspect immediately surrendered and advised officers that he had a bomb in the car. Bomb techs were dispatched but no explosive devices were found.