(FARGO) – Flag Family Media is working to learn more about 37-yr old Mohamad Barakat, the Fargo man who authorities say killed 23-year-old Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin; and injured Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes. Officer Zachary Robinson ended up killing Barakat.
Two big questions were left after the killing – who is Mohamad Barakat? And what was the motive behind him shooting three police officers – and killing one?
Barakat is a 37-year-old Fargo resident, but further than that, there are scant details on who Barakat is.
Flag Family Media has dug into a potential criminal past of Barakat, and a search of North Dakota and Minnesota court records returned no criminal charges filed against Barakat. Additionally, Flag Family Media has filed an open records request with Fargo Police regarding any potential calls for service involving Barakat. Chief David Zibolski said Saturday that Fargo Police officers had previously interacted with Barakat, but nothing of any significance. It does not appear that Barakat was involved in the crash.
On Monday, Fargo Police officials responded to Flag Family Media’s request regarding any calls for service involving Barakat, saying, “All information pertaining to Mohamad Barakat is part of an active/ongoing investigation being conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been turned over to those agencies at this time. Until their case is closed or inactive, the information you requested cannot be released.”
Flag Family Media has also requested any information regarding Barakat’s history from the North Dakota Department of Transportation, including crash reports.
A search of social media networks did not reveal any accounts that appear to belong to Barakat.
At a press conference Saturday, Zibolski said that the reason why wasn’t known immediately, but that he was “confident” that the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will “put the pieces to the puzzle together as to why this individual chose to do this.”
State and federal officials are tight-lipped on the situation as well, citing the ongoing investigation being done by the BCI and FBI.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said his department “will not be talking about the investigation or those matters this week.”
Wrigley said, in a statement, that the “North Dakota Bureau of Investigation (BCI) is conducting a thorough and vigorous investigation, with the full assistance of the FBI and others. We will be sharing details about the investigation as soon as it becomes appropriate to do so.”
Relating to the safety of the community, Wrigley said, “We stress that investigators do not currently perceive there to be an ongoing threat to the community as a result of this incident.”
A neighbor that Flag Family Media contacted Monday afternoon, living in the Bluemont Village Apartments, was not willing to speak about their interactions with Barakat. Another neighbor said that, when questioned by the FBI, he said he had never had any interactions with Barakat; and when shown a picture, he didn’t recall ever seeing Barakat around the complex.
