FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a fatal shooting in downtown Fresno, California (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
The man suspected of killing three white men in a racially motivated attack in Fresno says he joined a gang in Sacramento when he was 9 and got involved with the black liberation movement at 14.
Kori Muhammad talked about his upbringing in a video interview published in 2015 on the website of Community Media Access Collaborative, where he was part of a media training program.
He says he joined the Nation of Islam and in 1995, when he was 17, he attended the Million Man March in D.C. as a lieutenant.
He says Martin Luther King “wanted to hug their hands, and get along with them, and lick their feet and they still killed him.”
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5 p.m.
The man suspected of killing three white men in a racially motivated attack in Fresno has a criminal history with arrests starting when he was 13.
Kori Ali Muhammad’s criminal history includes arrests for gun possession, theft and drug charges. Records show he was arrested at least twice as a teen for possessing a gun in school.
Court records show Muhammad also was arrested in Washington state in 2004 after acknowledging he shot a gun outside his apartment.
Prosecutors said he left the state and the case was later dismissed after they declined to extradite him from a federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons says Muhammad was incarcerated at a federal penitentiary from October 2006 to September 2011 after being convicted of possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.
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4:40 p.m.
The roommate of one of the victims of a racially motivated rampage in Fresno says they were waiting for a bus home when the shooter opened fire.
Mark Greer said he and 58-year-old David Jackson stopped at the Catholic Charities building after running a bank errand because Greer needed to use the restroom.
The two were waiting for the bus when authorities say Kori Ali Muhammad, who is black, targeted the white men at random. Greer said he ran into the Catholic Charities building.
Greer says they would shop for groceries and cleaned the house together. On the first of every month, Greer said Jackson would treat him to a meal at Denny’s restaurant where they both ordered the club sandwich.
Greer says Jackson was a military veteran.
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2:15 p.m.
Authorities says a suspect in a shooting that left three white men dead in Fresno continued shooting one victim on the ground.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday that the carnage began as Kori Ali Muhammad killed a security guard at a motel Thursday. Police said Muhammad spent the weekend in a ravine, and after learning he was wanted by police, set out to kill Tuesday.
Dyer says Muhammad, who is black, noticed a white man in a utility truck and fired into it, killing Zackary Randalls. He also shot Mark Gassett on a sidewalk, then pumped two more rounds into him as he lay wounded.
Finally, Dyer said Muhammad fired in the direction of a bus stop where he spotted three white men. They scattered, and the gunman picked an “older gentleman” who appeared to be heavier, David Jackson, and shot him twice.
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1:45 p.m.
Authorities say a man picked up the gun that a suspect used to kill three white men in a racially charged attack in Fresno and are urging him to turn himself in.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer also told reporters Wednesday that it’s “very rare” for a homicide suspect to cooperate with investigators in recounting the killings. Dyer says he believes Kori Ali Muhammad, who is black, was “proud” of what he did.
Muhammad yelled “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” during his arrest and described himself as Muslim but says he practiced voodoo rituals and prays to seven different gods.
Dyer says Muhammad isn’t a terrorist but is a racist and described the slayings as a hate crime.
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1:35 p.m.
Authorities say the man suspected of killing three white men in a racially charged attack in Fresno laughed multiple times as he recounted the rampage to detectives.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters Wednesday that Kori Ali Muhammad spoke about the killings in a callous way as he went with officers to the Motel 6 where he is accused of killing a security guard, and back to the scene of Tuesday’s three killings.
Dyer says Muhammad told police that he gave himself up because he respects Fresno officers, didn’t want them to shoot him and is not a “coward.”
The police chief says Muhammad hasn’t shown any remorse other than saying sorry to Dyer during his arrest.
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1:30 p.m.
Authorities say the man suspected of killing three white men in a racially charged attack in Fresno told police he was “not going to go down for shooting a security guard.”
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday that after Kori Ali Muhammad knew he was wanted for the security guard’s death, he wanted to take out as many white men as possible. He told investigators that he did not like white men and that “white people were responsible for keeping the black people down.”
He told investigators that he hid out in a ravine and practiced voodoo rituals after the Motel 6 slayings. He also told investigators he is Muslim, but he prays to seven different gods and hasn’t been to a mosque in 25 years.
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1:20 p.m.
Authorities say the man suspected of killing three white men in a racially charged attack in Fresno says he killed a motel security guard days earlier because the guard disrespected him.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says suspect Kori Ali Muhammad spent hours talking with investigators after his arrest.
Dyer says Muhammad went with officers to the Motel 6, where he is accused of killing unarmed security guard Carl Williams. Muhammad had gone there to meet a woman, and he argued with security who asked him to leave.
Dyer says Muhammad fired at Williams, intending to kill him, because he felt Williams disrespected him.
The suspect then fled and hid on a gas station roof. Dyer says he watched detectives investigate, then left and hid by a dumpster.
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12:25 p.m.
The mother of a man killed at a Fresno motel days before the same suspect was accused of a shooting rampage says she’s grateful she told her son she loved him before he died.
Authorities say Carl Williams was working as a security guard at a Motel 6 on Thursday night when Kori Ali Muhammad shot and killed him after an altercation. Police say Williams was unarmed.
Francine Williams described her 25-year-old son as a kind and giving person who had recently gotten engaged.
She saw her son a few days before he died and spontaneously told him she loved him and was proud of him. Carl Williams told her he loved her, too.
Muhammad, who’s black, was arrested Tuesday after police say he killed three other white men at random.
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11:45 a.m.
A coroner has released the names of three men gunned down during a shooting rampage in Fresno.
The Fresno County coroner’s office says 34-year-old Zackary David Randalls of Clovis, a utility worker, died at a hospital. Mark James Gassett, a 37-year-old from Fresno, died in a neighborhood, and 58-year-old David Martin Jackson of Fresno was shot outside a charity office and died at a hospital.
Police have arrested Kori Ali Muhammad, who is black, saying he singled out white victims and killed them at random.
Prosecutors say Muhammad is expected to be charged with four counts of murder in the three killings Tuesday and in the slaying last week of a motel security guard.
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11:15 a.m.
Prosecutors say the suspect in a racially motivated shooting rampage in Fresno could be arraigned on murder charges by the end of the week.
Steve E. Wright, assistant district attorney for Fresno County, says the case against Kori Ali Muhammad will likely be submitted to his office Thursday. Wright says he expects the arraignment will be scheduled for Friday.
Muhammad is expected to be charged with four counts of murder in the killings Tuesday of three men on a downtown street and in the slaying last week of a motel security guard.
Police say the 39-year-old, who is black, singled out white victims and killed them at random.
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11 a.m.
A close friend of a man who was shot in the passenger seat of a utility truck during a deadly rampage in Fresno says the victim was a 34-year-old father of two young children.
Eddie Valencia said Wednesday that he and Zackary Randalls were friends for 15 years after bonding on a job over a love of music and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Randalls was in a training program for Pacific Gas & Electric and doing a ride-along Tuesday when he was gunned down. The driver wasn’t hit and sped toward the police department, but Randalls died.
Two others also were shot and killed. Police arrested Kori Ali Muhammad, who is black, saying he singled out white victims and killed them at random.
Valencia called Randalls “one of the wittiest people he’s ever known,” saying the two loved to laugh.
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