North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski released video footage on Thursdsay of a shooting last month (July 14, 2023) that killed one police officer and left a bystander and two other officers injured.
The video footage taken from officer Zach Robinson’s body camera showed the gunman shooting rapid fire from a .223-caliber rifle.
Wrigley and Zibolski say Robinson gave the gunman, 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat, multiple warnings before eventually killing him.
Barakat shot and killed Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin (wall-een) and wounded officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes. Bystander Karlee Koswick was also wounded as she tried to flee. She was released from the hospital about a month ago. Officers Dotas and Hawes were discharged earlier this month.
The shooting has been ruled justified.
After the shooting, investigators found numerous guns, 1,800 rounds of ammunition, a homemade grenade and explosives in Barakat’s vehicle.
Authorities also said Barakat’s internet queries over the past five years included “kill fast,” “explosive ammo,” “incendiary rounds,” “mass shooting events,” and one for “area events where there are crowds,” which brought up a news article with the headline, ”Thousands enjoy first day of Downtown Fargo Street Fair,” a day before the shooting.
Wrigley says police visited Barakat’s home and interviewed him at least twice in recent years due to concerns related to his guns, though authorities say he appeared to have acquired them legally.
Barakat was a Syrian national who came to the US on an asylum request in 2012 and became a US citizen in 2019.