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Little Rock recruiting office shooting

2009 in Arkansas2009 murders in the United States21st-century history of the United States ArmyAttacks in the United States in 2009Crimes in Arkansas
Drive-by shootingsHistory of Little Rock, ArkansasIslamic terrorism in the United StatesJune 2009 crimes in the United StatesMilitary in ArkansasMilitary recruitmentMurder in ArkansasPerpetrators of religiously motivated violence in the United StatesReligiously motivated violence in the United StatesTerrorist incidents in ArkansasTerrorist incidents in the United States in 2009
Pulaski County Arkansas Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Little Rock Highlighted
Pulaski County Arkansas Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Little Rock Highlighted

The 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting took place on June 1, 2009, when Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, born 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, Muhammad 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. Muhammad was charged with capital murder, attempted capital murder, and 10 counts of unlawful discharge of a weapon. Muhammad also reportedly faced 15 counts of engaging in a terrorist act.A convert to Islam, 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, Muhammad 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. He had not consulted with his lawyers, and no independent confirmation of his claim has been made. His father described him as "unable to process reality".The lead prosecutor for Pulaski County, Arkansas, said about Muhammad'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."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". Hasan was charged with murder and was sentenced to death. The Arkansas prosecutor took the Muhammad case to trial in 2011. The defense lawyers said that the young man suffered "a delusional disorder". During the trial, Muhammad changed his plea to guilty and the prosecutor accepted it. On July 25, 2011, Muhammed 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.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Little Rock recruiting office shooting (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Little Rock recruiting office shooting
North Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock

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N 34.75918 ° E -92.37533 °
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Thompson Driving

North Rodney Parham Road 9108
72205 Little Rock
Arkansas, United States
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thompsondriving.com

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Pulaski County Arkansas Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Little Rock Highlighted
Pulaski County Arkansas Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Little Rock Highlighted
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Big Rock Interchange

Big Rock Interchange is the I-430/I-630/Financial Parkway interchange in west Little Rock, Arkansas. The name is derived from a large rock formation discovered during expansion. The interchange was originally constructed in 1977, then in the mid-2000s it was decided to expand the interchange in an attempt to alleviate congestion. In 2011 an outcropping of Pennsylvanian Jackfork Formation sandstone and surrounding shale was discovered in the southeast quadrant of the project. The formation was estimated to weigh about 5 million pounds. Due to the size and hardness of the sandstone it was decided to leave the unique and distinctive formation in place as a landmark, rather than use explosives or some other method to try to remove it, and it was dubbed "The Big Rock". When the original I-430 and I-630 interchange was constructed, about 14,000 vehicles a day traveled down each Interstate, and I-630 ended at Shackleford Road with a traffic signal. With expansion and growth in west Little Rock, and particularly in the Chenal Valley neighborhood, the interchange had become progressively more congested by the early 2000s. In 2004 the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department began a study to expand the interchange. The first of three phases began January 2009. First phase was construction of an additional I-630 west to I-430 north lane, modification to Financial Centre Parkway just west of Shackleford Road, and an additional traffic signal added to Hermitage Drive. Phase two involved preparing the interchange for future work and mainly involved the I-430 bridge over I-630 which was lengthened. Phase three completed the flyover lanes. The $150 million makeover took over six years to complete. Since construction ended, over 200,000 vehicles use the interchange daily.