A black man accused of killing four people told detectives that he was tired of racism so he figured he should kill as many white men as he could.
Kori Ali Muhammad, who investigators say called himself “Black Jesus”, is currently on trial for a shooting spree that took place in California in 2017. According to the Fresno Bee, he could face the death penalty if convicted.
In a recording taken by detectives on the day of his arrest, Muhammad told police: “I didn’t want to do nothing to law enforcement so I just found some white men to kill.”
A security camera recorded Muhammad coming up behind 25-year-old motel security guard Carl Williams and shooting him.
“It starts taking its toll on you and you get fed up with the racism,” he said. “You get tired of letting things slide.”
The alleged killer said that if he was “going down for murder” he might as well “kill as many white men” as he could.
Days after his first murder, Muhammad allegedly killed three other people at random in the downtown area.
One of the victims was Zachary Randalls, 34, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a Pacific Gas & Electric lorry.
“When I walked up to the truck, I saw a Mexican driver and a white guy,” Mr Muhammad said on the recording. “I didn’t want to target the driver because he was Mexican so I shot the white dude.”
Reports from 2017 claimed that Mr Muhammad shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Great”) during his arrest.
Mark Gassett, 37, and David Jackson, 58, were identified as the other two victims of the shooting.
At the time of the arrest Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer said the massacre had “nothing to do with terrorism in spite of the statement he made”.
“This is solely based on race,” he added.
At the time it was reported that on a Facebook page that appeared to be Mr Muhammad’s a user posted “#LetBlackPeopleGo” and encouraged “black warriors” to “mount up”.
He wrote that his “kill rate increases tremendously on the other side” and also posted about “white devils”.
On several occasions, he wrote updates including the phrase “Allahu Akbar”.
Muhammad has a criminal history that includes arrests on weapons, drugs and false imprisonment charges and making terrorist threats.
He had been associated with gangs but he was not a confirmed member, police say.
