Muslim Convert Guns Down Two Soldiers in Arkansas

An African-American convert to Islam has gunned down two soldiers at a US Army recruiting centre in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 24, killed Pvt. William Long, 24, and severely wounded Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18.

It is expected that the latter will survive his injuries.

Here is the full story from CNN:

An Arkansas man was arrested Monday in connection with a shooting at a Little Rock military recruiting center that killed one soldier and wounded another, authorities said.

Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad [above] — a 24-year-old Little Rock resident formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe — faces a first-degree murder charge and 15 counts of engaging in a terrorist act, Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said. The terrorist counts stem from the shots fired at an occupied building.

The soldier who was killed was identified as Pvt. William Long, 24, of Conway, and the wounded soldier is Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, Thomas said.

Ezeagwula is in stable condition and expected to recover, the police chief said.

Although military officials initially believed that the shooting was a random act, Thomas said police think the shooter acted alone “with the specific purpose of targeting military personnel.”

“I’m relieved there’s a suspect in custody,” said Capt. Matthew Feehan, commander of the center.

Feehan said seven other recruiters were in the building, but nobody else was injured.

Thomas said police recovered three guns from Muhammad’s black Ford SUV: an SKS semi-automatic rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a pistol.

The victims were just out of basic training and had not been deployed, said Lt. Col. Thomas F. Artis, commander of the Oklahoma recruiting battalion that oversees the Little Rock recruiting center.

The soldiers were part of a recruiting program called “hometown recruiting assistance,” Artis said. Under the program, recruiters have the soldiers tell their stories to potential recruits. It’s a volunteer position taken while soldiers are visiting or based back in their home region, Artis said.

The FBI has opened an investigation into the incident, said Steven Frazier, spokesman for the agency’s Little Rock office. “Based on what we find, we will determine whether there is any federal jurisdiction to prosecute,” he said.

A little more information from 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 of the soldiers, 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 in a phone interview.

"He has converted to Islam here in the past few years," Hastings said. "To be honest we're not completely clear on what he was upset about. He had never been in the military."

Hastings identified the man in custody as Carlos Bledsoe, 24, of Little Rock, who was going by the name of Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad. He did not have further details.

Hastings said the attacker pulled up in a car outside an Army-Navy recruiting office about 10:30 a.m. local time and fired. The two soldiers were outside the office when shot.

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.

***UPDATE 2nd June 15.37***

Jihad Watch reveals that not only was this Muslim convert being tracked by the FBI, but he had previously studied Jihad in Yemen.