NYPD Intelligence Issues Update on Jihad at Army Recruiting Station
by Jim Kouri (6/7/09)
A suspected “Jihadist” killed one US Army recruiter and wounded another during a morning attack in Little Rock, on Monday.
Private William Long, 23, was killed as he worked at a military recruitment center in Arkansas.
Long and another man, Private Quinton I. Ezeagwula, 18, were shot as they stood outside the Army-Navy recruitment center in Little Rock. Ezeagwula was wounded but survived the attack.
According to the New York City Police Department’s Intelligence Division, the suspect, a black male, drove his SUV by the Army/Navy Recruitment Center located at the Ashley Area Square Shopping and opened fire on two recruiters standing outside of the military recruitment offices.
Emergency Medical Responders pronounced one of the recruiters DOA (dead on arrival), while the other recruiter was rushed to the hospital where he is in critical, but stable, condition.
Following the drive-by shooting, bloodshed and the subsequent pursuit, local police officers captured the suspect near the Interstate (I-30/I -630) highway interchange.
After taking the suspect into custody, police discovered a SKS rifle, a .22 caliber handgun, ammunition, and a “suspicious” package, according to the NYPD Intelligence Division’s William O’Regan, a research specialist.
Police said that the suspect surrendered without incident and that he used language “indicating his association with “Jihad.” He also indicated the possible existence of explosives.
The Little Rock police officers at the scene brought in their department’s Hazmat/Bomb Squad, who retrieved the suspicious parcel for analysis.
Little Rock police reported there were no other suspects involved in the deadly attack.
According to NYPD Intelligence, military installations continue to be the target of anti-military groups and individuals. Recruiting stations, National Guard armories, and Reserve Centers have no armed guards which makes them vulnerable targets.
New York City military facilities have been targeted in the past - i.e. the March 6, 2008 bombing of the Times Square Recruiting Station.
Police identified the alleged attacker as Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, an Islamic convert. He is being charged with first-degree murder as well as 15 counts of perpetrating terrorism.
Update by NYPD Intelligence Division/NYPD Shields
According to officials with the New York City Police Department, Abdulhakim Majahid Muhammad, a/k/a
Carl Leon Bledsoe, converted to Islam as a teenager.
Prior to the attack and homicide, the FBI had initiated an investigation of Muhammad following his return to the US from Yemen. According to the intelligence report—based on the FBI report and a post-incident interview of Muhammad—he was arrested in Yemen for carrying a false passport. Subsequently he studied “Jihad” with a Yemeni Islamic scholar.
Muhammad told interrogators that he attacked the recruiting station and Army recruiters because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
The search warrants issued for the young terrorist’s apartment and SUV reportedly resulted in the following in addition to items already found in SUV:
-Molotov cocktails
-Homemade silencers
-Compact disks with Arabic writing
Muhammad allegedly conducted Google Map searches on Jewish institutions, a Baptist church, a child care facility, a U.S. post office, and military recruiting centers in the following areas:
-Atlanta, Georgia
-Little Rock, Arkansas
-Louisville, Kentucky
-New York, New York
-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
-Memphis, Tennessee
The NYPD issued a list of previous plots and attacks:
-May 2009, 4 converts arrested in New York for targeting Bronx Synagogues and a military aircraft
-February 2009, convert arrested for killing Philadelphia police officer
-June 2008, converts sentenced for targeting military and Jewish facilities in California
-November 2007, convert pleads guilty to conspiracy to use WMD’s against Illinois shopping mall
-February 2007, convert convicted for role in “Virginia Jihad Network”
-August 2007 convert pleads guilty in New York to conspiracy to support terrorists
NYPD Shields report stated that there exists a “troubling trend for US security and law enforcement officials.”
The report also stated that terrorists—foreign and domestic—continue targeting of high-value civilian and government targets, while military installations continue to be the target of anti-military groups and individuals
Recruiting stations, National Guard armories, and Reserve Centers have no armed guards which makes them vulnerable targets. New York City military and religious facilities have been targeted in the past - i.e. the March 6, 2008 bombing of the Times Square Recruiting Station
Additional Sources:
U.S. Army National Guard Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Report,
“Update: Gunman Shoots Two at Arkansas Military Recruitment Center,”FBI and DHS Threat Alert and Advisory Message,”
National Association of Chiefs of Police Terrorism CommitteeJim Kouri, CPP
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