Police say a man with "political and religious motives" confessed to fatally shooting a new soldier and wounding another Monday in a targeted attack on a military recruiting center. The shootings were not believed to be part of a broader scheme.
William Long, 23, of Conway, died in the attack on the Army-Navy Career Center in a west Little Rock shopping center, and Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, was wounded and in stable condition, Police Chief Stuart Thomas said.
Police arrested Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23 of Little Rock, along a crosstown interstate moments later. Thomas said Muhammad, previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, would be charged with capital murder, plus 16 counts of committing a terroristic act.
A police report said Muhammad admitted that he "observed two uniformed U.S. soldiers standing in front of the recruiting office ... then drove in front of the army recruiting office and shot the victims." It did not quote Muhammad directly.
"He saw them standing there and drove up and shot them," Lt. Terry Hastings said in an interview said. "That's what he said."
Thomas said that, based on an interview officers conducted with Muhammad, the suspect "probably had political and religious motives for the attack" on the recruiting center about 1.5 miles from his apartment.
"Mr. Muhammad, previously known as Mr. Bledsoe, did convert to Islam sometime previously in his life. 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," the chief said. "At this point, we believe that it's associated with his disagreement over the military operations."
Melvin Bledsoe of Memphis, Tenn., the accused shooter's father, hung up on a reporter who called about his son's arrest Monday night.
Witnesses told police that a man inside a black vehicle pulled up outside the recruiting center and opened fire about 10:19 a.m. Long fell onto the sidewalk outside the center while Ezeagwula was able to crawl toward its door.
Both men were in fatigues and had recently completed basic training. The two volunteered to work at the recruiting center to attract others to the military.
Police said Muhammad's vehicle was stopped on Interstate 630 a short time later and the suspect was taken into custody. Police Lt. Terry Hastings said the suspect surrendered without incident. Police recovered an assault rifle and two other weapons in the vehicle.
Officers closed the interstate for a time as a precaution in case the extended-cab pickup truck had been booby-trapped. Little Rock police contacted a bomb squad, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI to assist the investigation.
Officers also obtained search warrants for Muhammad's truck and apartment.
The recruiting office is part of a shopping center at a commercialized intersection, and the gunfire near other people would lead to additional charges of committing a terroristic act, Thomas said. He said 10 to 12 rounds of gunfire were recovered from the parking lot.
"We believe that's the extent of it," Thomas said. "Several of those rounds penetrated the building."
Jim Richardson, the manager at a drug store around the corner from the Army-Navy center, said people at the store didn't realize anything was amiss until hearing sirens outside.
"Nobody heard any gunshots," Richardson said.
Lt. Col. Thomas F. Artis of the Oklahoma City Recruiting Battalion, which oversees the Little Rock office, said the victims had just completed basic training and were not regular recruiters. He said they were serving two weeks in the Little Rock office.
As part of the Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program, the soldiers were sent to "talk to friends, folks in the local area. They can show the example, 'Here's where I was, and here is where I am,"' Artis said.
Artis said neither of the soldiers had been deployed for combat.
Eight other people work in the Little Rock recruiting office, including one civilian, he said.
Steven Johnson, an 18-year-old recruit, was on his way to take a qualifying test when he found police cars at the scene. By early afternoon, Johnson was waiting patiently outside the yellow police tape that was blocking access to the office.
"I'm going to check and see if they're all right," he said.
For more information see Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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