On July 14, 2023, 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat opened fire on a group of police officers who were responding to an unrelated traffic accident in Fargo, North Dakota. One officer was killed, and two others and a civilian bystander were injured, before Barakat was killed by another officer on the scene who was uninjured.

Shooting

On the afternoon of July 14, 2023, a vehicle accident occurred on a busy street, prompting a response from the police department and fire department. Four police officers were attending the scene by the time of the ambush.^[1][2]

Barakat came across the scene while driving to an unknown destination and was observed on video to have circled the scene for approximately 15 minutes before parking his vehicle adjacent to the site of the accident.^[1] At around 3:04 p.m., Barakat exited his vehicle wearing a tactical vest carrying several magazines and carrying a .223-caliber rifle equipped with a binary trigger and double-stacked high-capacity magazines capable of holding up to 60 rounds. Barakat opened fire on 3 police officers from approximately 15 to 20 feet away, using his vehicle as cover.^[2] Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes were immediately incapacitated after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds and could be seen lying motionless in bodycam video. Officer Jake Wallin approached Barakat's vehicle during the gunfire and was able to fire a single round before being killed by a single shot from Barakat. Barakat then fired upon Karlee Koswick, a fleeing bystander who was involved in the traffic accident, wounding her with two gunshots. The binary trigger on Barakat's semi-automatic rifle enabled rapid gunfire against the officers, one of whom thought he had an "AK-47".^[3][4][5]

A fourth police officer, Officer Zach Robinson, who was uninjured in the initial barrage of gunfire, engaged Barakat in a brief shootout. Robinson returned fire, striking Barakat and disabling his rifle. Barakat then withdrew one of two handguns he had on his person while wounded on the ground and continued to try and point his firearm at Robinson, despite repeated demands to drop his weapon from Robinson, until he was instantly killed by several shots towards the head. Robinson fired a total of 31 rounds during the altercation, 21 of which struck Barakat.^[3][6][5]

Victims

Perpetrator

The perpetrator was Mohamad Barakat, a 37-year-old Syrian national who came to the U.S as an asylum seeker in 2012 and became a U.S citizen in 2019. Barakat worked "odd jobs" and at one point trained to be an emergency responder at a local college. He reportedly had family in the U.S, but they did not live in the Fargo area. Barakat did not have a criminal record and obtained the firearms used in the shooting legally. Barakat was not known to be an active member of the Muslim community in Fargo, did not have a social media presence and was essentially described as a loner.^[7]

No clear motive has been established for the ambush or any other potential plot Barakat may have planned.^[8] Forensic analysis of Barakat's computer revealed that he had searched online for the terms “kill fast,” “explosive ammo,” “incendiary rounds,” “mass shooting events," and “area events where there are crowds," as well as information on the Red River Valley Fair.^[9] Investigators have suggested that Barakat likely intended to carry out a larger attack based on the amount of weapons and ammunition he had, but may have decided to open fire on the police officers to create a diversion. Both the Downtown Fargo Street Fair and the Red River Valley Fair were ongoing at the time of the ambush, and attracted hundreds of visitors.^[7]

Barakat's weapons and armor

Barakat was wearing a tactical vest carrying several magazines and used a .223-caliber rifle equipped with a binary trigger and double-stacked high-capacity magazines, which were capable of holding up to 60 rounds, in the attack. He also had two handguns on his person, one of which he withdrew but did not fire in the attack.^[2] A search of Barakat's vehicle, which he had spray-painted the back windows of,^[1] after the shooting discovered seven additional guns, 1,800 rounds of ammunition, a homemade grenade, three gasoline containers, and two propane tanks filled with a homemade explosive compound similar to Tannerite.^[7][10][11]

References