Accused recruit shooter sudied jihad in Yemen

Fox News:

A recent convert to Islam accused of having "political and religious motives" in a deadly Arkansas military center shooting pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was ordered held without bail.

One soldier just out of basic training died and another was wounded in what police say was a targeted attack by Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, on U.S. forces.

Muhammad already had been under investigation by the FBI at the time of the shootings.

An FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force reportedly had been tracking Muhammad after he traveled to Yemen and was arrested there for using a Somali passport. The probe had been in its early stages and based on Muhammad's trip to Yemen, according to ABC News.

While there, Muhammad — a U.S. citizen from Memphis who is a recent convert to Islam and was previously known as Carlos Bledsoe — studied jihad with an Islamic scholar, Jihadwatch.org reported.

Muhammad told authorities that he approached the recruiting center in Little Rock by car on Monday and started shooting at two soldiers in uniform, according to a police report.

"He saw them standing there and drove up and shot them," Lt. Terry Hastings told The Associated Press. "That's what he said."

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So why is he pleading "Not guilty?" That certainly sounds like a confession of murder.

While I am glad to see he was on the FBI radar screen it is unfortunate that they did not have a tighter watch on him that would have prevented this attack. One of the more strange aspects of the reporting on this event is the NY Times story last night that said his motive was unclear, while other reports were already saying his motives were based on his Muslim beliefs. Those are some pretty weird beliefs.

While he may not have had direct association with terrorist organizations he had some training in jihad and seemed determined to act on it. The FBI should investigate the place where he got his training and consider filing charges against those doing the training.