A gunman opened fire in downtown Fresno, Calif., on Tuesday, killing three people before he was taken into custody, local media reported, citing police.
The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad, was also wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a security guard at a Motel 6 in Fresno on Sunday, the Fresno Bee newspaper reported.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Muhammad had expressed a hatred for white people and shouted “God is Great” in Arabic as he was being taken into custody, the Bee reported.
All three victims in Tuesday’s killings were white. The police chief says they were shot minutes apart in close proximity in areas around downtown. The Bee reported that the gunman opened fire with a large-calibre handgun while cursing shortly before 11 a.m. near a Catholic Charities building.
Dyer says police have called the FBI to assist in the investigation. He says the suspect made other statements to police, but did not disclose what they were.
County government buildings were placed on lockdown and residents were urged to shelter in place, according to the newspaper. Local television images showed what appeared to be a body covered in a yellow tarp in a street near where police tape marked off several crime scenes.
Fresno is an agricultural hub in California’s central valley, about 274 kilometres southeast of San Francisco.
