Terrorism in LR yesterday

Police say a man with “political and religious motives” confessed to fatally shooting a new soldier and wounding another Monday in a targeted attack on a military recruiting center. The shootings were not believed to be part of a broader scheme.

William Long, 23, of Conway, died in the attack on the Army-Navy Career Center in a west Little Rock shopping center, and Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, of Jacksonville, was wounded and in stable condition, Police Chief Stuart Thomas said.

Police arrested Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23 of Little Rock, along a crosstown interstate moments later. Thomas said Muhammad, previously known as Carlos Bledsoe, would be charged with capital murder, plus 16 counts of committing a terroristic act.

A police report said Muhammad admitted that he “observed two uniformed U.S. soldiers standing in front of the recruiting office ... then drove in front of the army recruiting office and shot the victims.” It did not quote Muhammad directly.

“Mr. Muhammad, previously known as Mr. Bledsoe, did convert to Islam sometime previously in his life. At this point it appears that he specifically targeted military personnel, but there doesn’t appear to be a wider conspiracy or, at this point in time, any indication that he’s a part of a larger group or a conspiracy to go further,” the chief said. “At this point, we believe that it’s associated with his disagreement over the military operations.”

The suspect, arrested in the fatal shooting of one soldier and the critical injury of another at a West Little Rock Army recruiting center was under investigation by the FBI 's Joint Terrorist Task Force since his return from Yemen.

Authorities told ABC news that the investigation was in its preliminary stages, and was based on the suspects travel to Yemen and his arrest there for using a Somali passport. A recent convert to Islam, it was unknown what path the subject, a US citizen, had followed to radicalization.