FARGO (KFGO) -The man who shot Fargo police officers — one fatally — last week had 1,800 rounds, multiple guns and a homemade hand grenade in his vehicle, officials said Wednesday.
Mohamad Barakat, 37, opened fire on officers responding to a traffic wreck Friday before being fatally shot by Officer Zach Robinson. Officer Jake Wallin was killed, and Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes were hospitalized with critical injuries.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said Robinson’s deadly use of force “in the wake of Mohamad Barakat’s murderous, unprovoked attack was reasonable, necessary, justified, and in all ways lawful.”
Robinson fired 30 rounds during a two-minute exchange of gunfire with Barakat. Officials said the seven-year veteran’s actions almost certainly prevented additional violence.
“When you look at the amount of ammunition this shooter had in his car, he was planning on more mayhem in our community,” Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said at a news conference Wednesday.
Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski said Robinson was the “last man standing between an individual set on committing horrific acts and targets unknown at this time.”
Police were responding to a routine traffic crash on 25th St. S when Barakat began firing multiple rounds at them, Wrigley said.
“He’s casing the place up and stalking his way in and sizing up his opportunity and then parks there and spends minutes watching the officers and waits until they are literally walking toward his car,” Wrigley said. “That’s when he lifts his firearm out the window and begins firing. It was an absolute ambush. There’s no other way to describe that”
Wrigley said none of the three officers who were hit by Barakat’s initial barrage of gunfire had time to un-holster their weapons and return fire before they were hit.
Robinson’s body cam footage shows he was in the street investigating the crash site nearly 75 feet away from the place Barakat began shooting.
Robinson radioed in calls of “shots fired” before realizing the other officers had been shot, at which point Wrigley said Robinson radioed in again, instructing dispatch to “send everybody.”
Wrigley said Robinson advanced toward Barakat’s position after initially engaging the shooter from a covered position near the cars in the street. One of Robinson’s rounds hit and disabled the .223 long rifle from which Barakat fired 40 rounds, one of which hit and mortally wounded Wallin. After the long rifle was hit, Barakat rearmed with a 9mm handgun and began waving it around despite Robinson’s multiple directives to disarm. Authorities do not believe Barakat ever actually fired the 9mm.
Robinson ordered Barakat 16 times to put the gun down during the two minutes of gunfire exchange and as he advanced toward the shooter.
After the attack, officers found 1,800 live rounds, three long rifles, four handguns, explosives, canisters with gasoline and a homemade hand grenade in Barakat’s car, Wrigley said.
“This individual (Barakat) had at his disposal the weaponry, the intent, and the commitment to place great carnage upon our community, but for the acts of Zachary Robinson,” Zibolski said, calling Robinson’s actions “absolutely heroic.”
Firefighters on the scene and a nearby ambulance were essential in preventing additional fatalities, Zibolski said. As soon as the firing stopped, “firefighters bounced out and they were applying first aid immediately to our officers,” he said, which “probably had a very significant impact on their survival.”
Wrigley said Barakat also shot and injured Karlee Koswick, whose vehicle was involved in the crash. Koswick was standing near the officers on the sidewalk when Barakat started shooting and was trying to escape the gunfire when she was hit.
While the focus of the press conference was intended to be whether Robinson’s use of force was justified, Wrigley provided the most detailed account that authorities yet have given about what happened during the gunfight. He said investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the attack on police but promised more details on the investigation at a news conference planned for Friday that will be joined by the FBI.
Shortly after the shooting, authorities, including the FBI, converged on a residential area about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away and evacuated residents of an apartment building to gather what they said was related evidence.
Zibolski said he believed police previously had some sort of contact with Barakat “but not anything significant.”
The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI are investigating the attack. Robinson was placed on paid administrative leave while state authorities completed an investigation into his use of force, per Fargo police procedure.
The funeral service for Wallin, 23, is set for Saturday morning in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. A private service will follow graveside at a cemetery in Nisswa, Minnesota. A public celebration of life for Wallin is set for Wed. July 26 at 1 p.m. at Scheel’s Arena in Fargo.
Wallin served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq from November 2020 to July 2021. He and Hawes were sworn in less than three months ago and were still in training when they responded to the scene Friday. Dotas is a six-year veteran responsible for training officers.
Governors of Minnesota and North Dakota have directed U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Wallin through sunset on Saturday, and encouraged residents and businesses to do the same.
*The Associated Press contributed to the story
