One police officer was killed and two others were wounded after a gunman opened fire at the scene of a traffic crash in Fargo, North Dakota.
The shooter, identified as Mohamad Barakat, 37, of Fargo, was killed by a fourth officer. Chief David Zibolski provided few details about the shooter or the incident, stating that the motive remains unclear.
The incident occurred on Friday when officers responded to what Zibolski described as a "routine traffic accident" at a busy intersection. Barakat, who did not appear to be involved in the crash, opened fire on the officers. Officer Jake Wallin, a 23-year-old military veteran, was killed, while officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes sustained injuries. Officer Zach Robinson shot and killed the suspect.
A 25-year-old woman was also injured, although authorities did not provide details on how she was hurt.
Wallin had been a Fargo police officer for less than three months and was in the field as an officer in training at the time of the shooting. Prior to joining the police force, Wallin had served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and had been deployed to Afghanistan.
"He served his country, came back here and wanted nothing more but to serve in a position with purpose and meaning his exact words and he did that," said Zibolski.
According to witness Chenoa Peterson, the gunman appeared to ambush the officers from behind a car in a bank parking lot near the accident. Peterson described the scene, saying, "He was holding up the trunk of the car with his arm, and then I see the gun come up, and he set it on his shoulder and just pointed it directly at an officer in front of him. It was like 10 shots right away."
Following the shooting, officers conducted a search of a residential building located approximately 2 miles from the scene, evacuating residents and collecting evidence.
Zibolski expressed confidence that investigators would determine the motive behind the shooting. The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI are currently investigating the incident.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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