Shooting outside Catholic Charities building in California; 3 dead

April 20, 2017

Shouting “Allahu Akbar” [Allah is great], a man shot and killed three persons in Fresno on April 18. One of the shootings took place outside a Catholic Charities building.

The suspect has been identified as Kori Ali Muhammad, 39. Fresno’s police chief said that he was motivated by racial animus against persons who are white. The suspect, according to an Associated Press report, identified himself as a Muslim but said that he prays to seven different gods.

“In less than two minutes, three lives were taken for no apparent reason beyond an incomprehensible depth of hatred carried in the heart of one man,” the Diocese of Fresno said in a statement. “Let us seize this moment as an opportunity to live as people of light not darkness by rejecting the temptation to hate the hater and embracing the gift of grace that opens hearts to choose love which conquers all evil.”

 

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Further information:

• Heading home or on a new job: Fresno victims shot at random (AP)
• The Latest: Brother of Fresno suspect shocked by killings (AP)
• Diocesan Statement: Fatal Shootings In The Community Of Fresno Call All The Faithful To Prayer, Reflection And Reconciliation
• Fresno Shooting Suspect Laughed About the Killings in Police Interviews (AP)