Global InformationLittle Rock recruiting office shooting information
| 2009 Little Rock military recruiting office shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of terrorism in the United States | |
 Left – Little Rock, shown within Pulaski County
Right – Pulaski County, shown within Arkansas | |
| Location | 9112 North Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA |
| Coordinates | 34°45′33″N 92°22′31″W / 34.75918°N 92.37533°W |
| Date | June 1, 2009 10:19 a.m. |
| Target | U.S. military recruiting office |
Attack type | Drive-by shooting |
| Weapons | SKS rifle |
| Deaths | 1 (Private William Andrew Long) |
| Injured | 1 (Private Quinton I. Ezeagwula) |
| Perpetrator | Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad |
The 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting took place on June 1, 2009, when Carlos Leon Bledsoe opened fire with a rifle in a drive-by shooting on soldiers in front of a United States military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas. He killed Private William Long and wounded Private Quinton Ezeagwula.
After his arrest, Bledsoe acknowledged shooting the men. He told police that he had intended to kill as many Army personnel as possible. He had an SKS rifle, a Mossberg 702 Plinkster rifle, two handguns, 562 rounds of ammunition, and military books in his car. Bledsoe was charged with capital murder, attempted capital murder, and 10 counts of unlawful discharge of a weapon. Bledsoe also reportedly faced 15 counts of engaging in a terrorist act.[1]
A convert to Islam, Carlos Bledsoe (who changed his name to Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad) had gone to Yemen in 2007 to teach English, staying about 16 months. He was deported from Yemen to the United States, after having been detained for overstaying his visa.
In January 2010, Bledsoe wrote to the judge in his case. He claimed that he was sent on the attacks by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and pleaded guilty to the charges of capital murder.[2] He had not consulted with his lawyers, and no independent confirmation of his claim has been made.[2] His father described him as "unable to process reality".[2][3][4][5]
The lead prosecutor for Pulaski County, Arkansas, said about Bledsoe's attack, "If you strip away what he says, self-serving or not, it's just an awful killing, it's like a lot of other killings we have."[4]
His shooting attack was the first of two in 2009 at US military facilities. In the Fort Hood shooting in November, US Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed 13 and wounded 32 other soldiers. A Senate special report chaired by the Independent Joseph Lieberman declared it "the deadliest terrorist attack within the United States since September 11, 2001".[6] Hasan was charged with murder and was sentenced to death.
The Arkansas prosecutor took the Bledsoe case to trial in 2011. The defense lawyers said that the young man suffered "a delusional disorder".[citation needed] During the trial, Bledsoe changed his plea to guilty and the prosecutor accepted it. On July 25, 2011, Bledsoe was sentenced to life in prison.
At trial, the suspect was charged by the state with capital murder and related charges, not terrorism. Some terrorism experts have noted a connection to other homegrown terror plots in recent years, including targets, ideological motives, and religious inspiration. Other experts stated that the suspect had personal problems, making him vulnerable to recruitment into a fanatical ideology.[7]
- ^ "Officer's report and search warrant" (PDF). State of Arkansas. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ a b c Dao, James (January 21, 2010). "Man Claims Terror Ties in Little Rock Shooting". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
- ^ Mike Phelan; Mike Mount; Terry Frieden (June 1, 2009). "Suspect arrested in Arkansas recruiting center shooting". CNN. Archived from the original on 2010-01-06. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Dao, James (February 16, 2010). "A Muslim Son, a Murder Trial and Many Questions". The New York Times. Arkansas;Yemen. Archived from the original on 2010-02-22. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
- ^ Dao, James (June 4, 2009). "Suspect's Lawyer Outlines Defense in Killing of Soldier". The New York Times. New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
- ^ COUNTERTERRORISM LESSONS FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S FAILURE TO PREVENT THE FORT HOOD ATTACK: A SPECIAL REPORT Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine, BY JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, CHAIRMAN, SUSAN M. COLLINS, RANKING MEMBER
- ^ "Little Rock Shooting Suspect Joins Growing List of Muslim Converts Accused of Targeting U.S. Published June 2, 2009 FoxNews.com". Fox News. Archived from the original on June 1, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2010.