FARGO POLICE DEPARTMENT

They didn’t know each other, but they were killed hours apart by the same person: Ashley Hunter

C.S. Hagen — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 12:37:19 GMT

FARGO — From behind a podium at the Fargo Police Department, Chief David Todd chose his words carefully for a room full of inquisitive journalists. Behind him, Cass County State’s Attorney Birch Burdick and James Cheney, a Catholic priest and director of the St. Paul’s Newman Center stood, heads bowed.

“A good young man unknowingly opened his door to a monster,” said Todd, breathing suburban nightmares to life. He was referring to the 2015 double-murder case of 24-year-old Samuel Traut, a Bible study leader who was killed with a hammer minutes after a killer knocked on his back door and asked for a glass of water.

Unbeknown to Traut at the time, about seven hours earlier, the “monster,” Ashley Kenneth Hunter, had already stabbed to death his first victim, 48-year-old Clarence Flowers, just a few blocks away. Hunter stabbed Flowers 77 times, severing his spine, over disputes about methamphetamine and girlfriends, according to police records obtained by Forum News Service.

What drove Hunter to murder two separate men on June 22-23, 2015, quickly became apparent to investigators. Aided by Hunter’s confession in the police squad car and statements he made in the emergency room, prosecutors later argued their case, the jury deliberated for only a few hours, and the “monster” was sentenced to life imprisonment on Sept. 5, 2017.

During closing arguments in the 2017 trial, Burdick opened his remarks by saying: “When you live life in a meth-induced haze, reason is hard to come by — chaos, destruction and death is the norm.”

The murders weren’t the first time Hunter used violence when he became angry. In 2013, he stabbed Orlando DeWitt, a friend, with a 12-inch butcher knife hidden in a couch after he refused to change positions during a threesome at a home in Fargo.

In May 2013, Hunter was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and time served after he entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of misdemeanor assault.

Hunter became the brunt of jokes across the nation after the stabbing. He became known as a “Cry-baby of the Week” by Vice News.

Forum News Service has recently learned from Burdick, the lead prosecutor in the state's case against Hunter, that a section of Traut’s skull where one of the hammer blows punctured a hole was taken during the autopsy and kept for a time by the medical examiner’s office. While the person who performed the autopsy said the procedure was protocol, others were left in shock.

Clarence ‘Poppa C’ Flowers

In 2015, Burdick lived half a block from where Flowers was killed. When he found out about the incident, he walked to the crime scene, he said.

“And I walk by that house every day when I walk my dog, and I tell you that there is not a day that I walk by that house and I don’t think back to Clarence Flowers’ death there. It was so close to home,” Burdick said.

Using an “exceptional amount of violence,” Hunter attacked Flowers in his home early in the afternoon on June 22, 2015, because, he later said, the man overcharged him for drugs and stole his girlfriends. Family and friends painted a different picture of Flowers, saying he was a churchgoer who would help anyone.

Flowers, also known as “Poppa C,” was a divorced father of four children. He was excited about becoming a grandfather for the first time, said his mother, Carolyn Conner, from Georgia. He drove limousines, and at one time wanted to be a certified nursing assistant.

On a Facebook page dedicated to Flowers and open to the public, Conner said she still grieves for her son.

“My son was not perfect, but he had more good than bad characteristics. I still listen to his last voice mail message, and I look at the stars in the sky in remembrance of Clarence. I feel broken,” Conner wrote in 2017.

“He was righteous, he was gospel," said Jessica Kapaun, the mother of one of Flowers’ children.

The family did not return calls made by Forum News Service for more information.

‘Help me’

The days leading up to the murders, Hunter was “mething and tweaking extremely bad,” according to statements to police from Sarah Marie Bluecloud, who called Flowers her uncle. At one point, Hunter robbed Flowers for drugs, but Flowers robbed the drugs back, she stated.

Tension between the two men grew.

People who knew Flowers told police he was selling drugs, and that Hunter “was the running boy for Clay (Flowers) and was running dope for him. Clay was supposedly promising bigger things and a better life for Ash (Hunter),” according to a friend of Flowers whom police identified as Hope Schmalz.

The night before Flowers was killed, he went to Dakota Magic Casino in Hankinson, North Dakota, with a friend, Mitchell Spitzmiller. While there, Flowers won about $2,000, Spitzmiller told police, adding that two weeks before, Flowers and “Ash” had an argument over who would date a woman.

But on June 22, the tension boiled over. Megan Wartman, who was originally thought to be an accomplice, was at Flowers’ house at 3319 12th Ave. N. in Fargo when he was murdered, according to police reports. She was sleeping on Flowers’ sofa when she heard him yell: “Megan help me!”

“She said she got up, grabbed her cell phone, went into the room where he was at and saw him on the floor and bloody,” according to police reports.

Hunter, who stood nearby, “Told her he may have to kill her too. Hunter then told her to take the knife and stab the victim, but she refused. He then told her she had to hold the knife so that her DNA was on the knife,” according to police reports.

Hunter also ordered Wartman to hold a gun, and “she did these things because she feared Hunter would kill her.”

Hunter stole a Remington 870 Express Magnum shotgun and “a bag of dope” from Flowers’ apartment and put it into the back of a truck, a black and silver Dodge Ram pickup, which was already on police radar for being stolen.

After leaving the scene of the crime, Hunter and Wartman eventually went to Christopher Doss’ home on University Drive North, directly behind Traut’s house.

While there, the four of them sat in the living room using methamphetamine he had stolen from Flowers when the 10 o’clock news came on.

“There was a big story about Ashley Hunter being wanted for murder on the local news,” police reports stated.

Doss and his girlfriend left, and shortly after midnight, Hunter climbed a fence in the backyard. A witness who was not named told police she spotted a tall African-American man knock on Traut’s back door. Less than five minutes later, she heard a muffled scream.

Samuel Traut

“Besides a child, there couldn’t have been anyone more innocent. He was sitting in the dining room at that house working on his computer and had just come back from a mission trip. He was sitting beneath a picture of the Pope hanging on the wall behind him. I thought to myself, ‘How does this happen?’ ” Burdick said, recalling the case with Forum News Service.

“He was a man of tremendous courage and virtue, and he’s going to be really missed,” said James Cheney, director of the St. Paul’s Newman Center.

Described as a “good young man” by then-police chief David Todd, Traut was a Bible study leader for St. Paul’s Newman Center, a chapel attached to faith-based housing known as Newman Living, home to more than 80 students. He also worked as a civil engineer and road designer for Stantec in Fargo, according to his obituary.

Choked with emotion, Traut’s sister Sally told the court during Hunter’s sentencing: “What used to bring me smiles of joy now leaves me with heartbreaking emptiness. We are the victims, with no possibility of justice.”

Traut was a eucharistic minister, or a Catholic layperson who assists during Mass, a member of the prayer team and the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus, according to his obituary.

“He experienced great joy in doing evangelization… well known for his great smile, genuine, fun-loving character, prank playing, energetic swing dancing, mechanic skills and his way of just helping out anyone anywhere.”

The family did not return calls made by Forum News Service for more information.

‘It was brutal and it was senseless’

Before Hunter knocked on Traut's back door and asked for a drink of water, Traut had made a pizza, enjoyed fruit with a friend and sent a text message to his mother, MaryAnn, who lived in Traut’s hometown of Sartell, Minnesota, according to police reports.

“All he did was answer the back door when someone knocked on it and tried to give the guy a drink of water. Ashley Hunter had been hanging out in a yard of a house on the University Drive side of that block,” Burdick said.

“Our sense of it at the time was that Hunter thought getting this drink of water was taking too much time. Maybe he thought Traut called the police instead of getting him a drink of water. It was brutal and it was senseless. And he killed him,” Burdick said.

Initially, the call for help came from a neighbor who saw smoke and heard fire alarms coming from Traut’s house at 1122 12th St. N.

When police arrived, however, they discovered only smoke. The fire that Hunter apparently tried to set didn’t take, and officers found Traut, dressed in blue jeans, a white shirt and boots, lying near a doorway.

While officers were searching Traut’s residence, Hunter left the house and approached officers with his hands full of mail from Christopher Doss' house, directly behind Traut's home. The letters were mostly religious material, handwritten notes, police reports stated. He also had seven pieces of woman’s jewelry and a cardboard jewelry box, $3.50 in cash, 14 grams of meth in a plastic baggie and women’s makeup.

“I am the one. I’m unarmed,” he told police. “I was the one that was beating him up with the hammer the whole time.”

After law enforcement set up the crime scene and began searching the area, Fargo Police Officers Terresa Durr and Wes Libner saw Hunter as he walked along University Drive from 12th Avenue and arrested him without incident.

“It’s all over the news,” Hunter repeatedly said while officers handcuffed him.

Before the trial, Hunter changed his tune, publicly stating he was innocent. The trial was postponed because he went through four attorneys before he was found guilty, and in 2018, his lawyer appealed the conviction to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which denied his claims that he received an unfair trial.

Missing piece of skull

Recently, nine years after the murders, Forum News Service learned that a piece of Traut’s skull was taken by the medical examiner during the autopsy and preserved at least until Hunter's trial two years later.

While Mark Koponen, the medical examiner who performed Traut’s autopsy, said the procedure was according to protocol, Burdick said he was surprised to later see the bone fragment.

“There was a time when I went up to Grand Forks and spoke with the medical examiner, and this was before the trial. He had cut a piece of the skull out that was reflective, that contained one of the hammer blows that the skull had received. The reason he did it was because he thought maybe we would need that for evidence,” said Burdick, lead prosecutor during Hunter’s trial.

“When I saw that, I was surprised. I figured pictures would be enough. The reason that disturbed me a little bit at the time … the family of Sam Traut was extremely religious. When the body was returned to the family to be buried or whatever they did, I don’t think they would have had that portion of the skull,” Burdick said.

Koponen, reached by phone, said: “I’ve done over 6,000 autopsies in my career and remember very, very few names.”

But he did end up remembering Traut’s case after an initial interview and called back to Forum News Service.

“On that piece of bone, if it was retained in the medical examiner’s office, it has probably been cremated," Koponen said, adding that evidence is kept until all appeals processes have been completed.

"In some homicides, that evidence may be kept indefinitely. I don’t have access to records. I don’t know if they are there anymore. It was a piece of evidence that was necessary to collect, and it was handled well,” Koponen said.

The Fargo Police Department does “not have any piece of skull logged into property” as evidence, said Fargo Police Support Specialist Mary Hughes.

Edward Bina, who works in the medical examiner’s office, told Forum News Service: “I wouldn’t know anything about that case. It’s Cass County’s case, so they would be in charge of any questions.”

Cass County Coroner Kriste Ross said her office was involved in the investigation in 2015 but did not have a chance to examine the bodies before handing them over to funeral homes. She was not aware of the missing piece of Traut’s skull.

“Are body parts kept behind? I am trying to think of a situation ... the only thing I could think of is if they need to keep something for evidence, but generally that is, if it’s held indefinitely or if it’s … you’re talking of an ethical situation and I can’t speak for the medical examiner, but I would think that the medical examiner would turn that over to be buried or cremated with the body at some point,” Ross said.

“That’s very interesting,” he added. “It would be up to the funeral home to alert me if there was something questionable.”

Deb Dingmann, funeral director for Williams Dingmann Funeral Home in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, which took care of Traut’s funeral arrangements, said she refused to believe the news was true.

“That doesn’t happen, so I would be surprised that somebody actually told you that and certainly wouldn’t want any rumors to get out and I don’t believe that’s true,” Dingmann told Forum News Service.

“My heart still feels for that family; they were so understandably distressed by what happened to their good son. Not that Clarence Flowers deserved what he got, either. Their son was just a complete innocent,” Burdick said.

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Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind 'speaks' in new Hulu true-crime show 'Me Hereafter'

C.S. Hagen — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 21:30:00 GMT

FARGO — What would murder victims say if they could speak beyond the grave?

That’s the question Hulu is tackling in a four-episode series, with the first story looking into the 2017 fetal abduction of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind’s baby and her subsequent grisly murder in a small Fargo apartment complex.

Called “Me Hereafter,” the broadcast is part of an ABC News Studios four-part docuseries that began airing on Feb. 29 only on Hulu.

Greywind’s story, titled “First She Stole My Baby,” is about the 22-year-old, eight-month-pregnant nursing assistant from when she first goes missing near her Ninth Street North apartment on Aug. 19, and follows through to her body being found in the Red River and the trials against her killers.

Three other true crime stories spanning over 20 years with dramatic retellings of the investigation through the victims’ voices follow Greywind’s episode, and all feature interviews with family members, investigators and others in each of the cases with “never-before-seen footage taking you inside the chilling cases,” according to ABC News.

“I didn’t think this would be my last day on Earth. I thought it would be the best year of my life, not the last one,” an actress says in a promotional video for the series on YouTube.

Greywind had her life blossoming before her: she was excited about having a baby. She was in love with her boyfriend, Ashton Matheny, the father of their child. She had a decent job and was anticipating a move into a new apartment with her new family, to start a new life.

But upstairs neighbors Brooke Lynn Crews and her live-in boyfriend, William Hoehn, took the young family’s dreams away that late summer afternoon. Shortly before Greywind went missing, she sent a text message to her mother saying she ordered pizza for the family’s lunch. Then she went upstairs to help Crews — who during the trial said she lured her up — with a sewing project.

She was never heard from again.

Desperate, the Greywind family repeatedly went upstairs and talked to Crews, who eventually said she had left. Throughout the investigation and subsequent trial, Crews insisted that Greywind was having relationship problems.

About three hours later, the family called police to report their daughter missing. Grassroots organizers began searches in nearby forested areas, like the old Trollwood Park. Rumors of her disappearance, about police neglect, and the occupants of Apartment 5 — where Crews and Hoehn lived — began to spread online like wildfire.

What followed was eventually discovered as a horrific and sick game of lies and cat and mouse, smuggling Greywind’s body out in a hollowed-out dresser, hiding her baby under covers and one time in a bag when police came to search the killers’ apartment.

Eight days after Greywind went missing, police discovered Crews was purchasing diapers; the baby, later named Haisley Jo, was found on top of the bed. Three days later, kayakers found Greywind’s body wrapped in garbage bags, snagged on a fallen log, in the Red River.

The new Hulu docuseries isn’t the first time that Greywind’s story grabbed national interest. In 2021, Cable channel HLN’s “Lies, Crimes & Video” featured her in an episode called “Nightmare in Fargo.” The episode featured interviews with prosecuting attorneys, TV anchors, parents, and Sandie Salisbury, the kayaker who discovered her body.

Greywind’s story has been the focus of many other documentaries and true-crime shows, including podcasts such as “Fetal Abduction.”

Greywind’s death was also the catalyst for former legislator Ruth Buffalo, a Democrat and member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, to push Savanna’s Act to Congress, which eventually passed in 2020. The law is meant to address the crisis of missing and murdered Native Americans by requiring more reporting and consultation between the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Interior and tribes in developing national law enforcement guidelines.

Hulu, one of America’s largest streaming media companies, is owned in part by The Walt Disney Company and has about 48 million paid subscribers and 100 million viewers, according to multiple statistical websites.

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Where do fake IDs come from?

C.S. Hagen — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 11:28:00 GMT

FARGO — Looking for a counterfeiter to make a fake driver’s license isn’t hard. A Google search in Chinese leads to websites that lead to WhatsApp numbers that lead to anonymous connections, primarily in China.

Strangely named websites filled with typos advertise their counterfeiting services. All an interested party needs to do is contact the number — WhatsApp or Discord, sometimes even through an email — place the order, and pay about $150.

While some online links have been shut down, most counterfeiters don’t hide their illegal activities. Locally, nobody is prosecuting forgers after investigating where the counterfeit identification comes from because of jurisdictional issues.

On a website called 724dl, the creator tells shoppers to upload their personal and delivery information, make the final payment and then obtain a tracking number.

Then wait. A few weeks later, a gift box should arrive containing a tourist trinket with two hidden, high-quality fake IDs, holograms and bar codes included, wrapped in Chinese newspaper, according to Radio Free Asia, a Washington, D.C.-based media outlet focused on Asian news.

From the 2010s up until recent years, ID counterfeiters called OldIronSidesFakes and IDGod were some of the most popular Chinese counterfeiters to order fake driver's licenses from.

“Looking for a fake ID card? IDGod can help you get high-quality scannable fake IDs. Visit the original IDGod site to buy your fake ID,” IDGod’s website announced on Google, but the corresponding link is no longer working in the United States.

Packages from IDGod are reported by the website to be sent by United States Postal Service and FedEx, according to a shipping guide from IDGod. The company touts an average monthly revenue of up to $500,000.

The Chinese connection

In August 2023, Chinese media outlets reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, seized more than 20,000 fake IDs at Chicago O’Hare International Airport in 2020, which were primarily made in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and the United Kingdom and were disguised as Chinese gift boxes, according to the Voice of America.

The CBP confirmed the seizure on its website, saying that in 2020 they seized 1,513 shipments with fraudulent documents — a total of 19,888 counterfeit U.S. driver's licenses.

The majority of the fake IDs were going to college students under the age of 21, Voice of America reported. A handful were for people over 21 who had criminal records. The cards contained the person’s photograph but had a different name or date of birth.

Officials in China also appear to be aware of the manufacturing of fake IDs since before 2012. According to a 2014 report published in the People’s Daily News, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials seized hundreds of high-quality fake IDs that were made in China and sold for about $150 each online.

Chinese law clearly states that the act of making or using fake identity cards is illegal and can be punished with imprisonment, fines and surveillance.

Postcards, toys and trinkets

During a two-week period in 2022, Customs and Border Protection officers seized 122 shipments containing 743 counterfeit driver’s licenses hidden within handbags, jewelry boxes and toys. Most of the fake IDs originated from China, according to the CBP.

"CBP's interception of these IDs significantly reduces the chances for alcohol to be purchased by underage individuals and hopefully reduces the consequences of their actions, including deadly accidents," said Shane Campbell, area port director in Chicago.

More than 2,000 other poor-quality fake IDs were discovered in October 2022 that were hidden in postcards and sent from Hong Kong, the CBP reported.

“The use of counterfeit IDs is often linked to terrorist cells, human trafficking, and other illicit and dangerous activities,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the CBP's Chicago Field Office. “Our officers are trained to identify many different kinds of fake or illegally modified documents, and they work 24/7 to stop them from coming into the country.”

In 2023, the CBP warned against telephone scammers posing as border agents that are targeting people for personal information that could be used to bypass security protocols.

When a fake ID is confiscated by the CBP, the information is handed over to the corresponding police department “who can arrest you and charge you with a crime,” the CBP reported.

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'It was a very surreal incident': How the July 14 shooting put emergency medical teams to the test

Patrick Springer — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 09:45:00 GMT

FARGO — It had been a quiet Friday afternoon. Ryan Hiatt was taking a bag of trash outside to the disposal bin at the headquarters of Sanford Ambulance when he heard “a bunch of sirens.”

Moments later, his cellphone rang: Central dispatch notified him that a police shooting was in progress, with multiple victims.

“It caught me off guard,” said Hiatt, Sanford Ambulance’s emergency medical services operations supervisor. “I knew this was going to be a big incident.”

It was the afternoon of July 14, 2023 — the day a heavily armed gunman shot three police officers, one fatally, and a bystander after a fender-bender in Fargo. All of the surviving victims were treated at Sanford Medical Center, posing a major test of the top-level trauma center.

Hiatt ran into headquarters, looking for members of his leadership team. All had taken off for the day. “Call everybody,” Hiatt told his office manager. “Get as many people as you can.”

He and two other responders jumped into an ambulance and immediately drove north, initially informed the shooting was happening at the intersection of 25th Street and 12th Avenue North.

Once past the Interstate 94 overpass, however, Hiatt could see the shooting spree was unfolding much closer, with emergency lights flashing and “dozens of vehicles” converged at the intersection of 25th Street and Ninth Avenue South.

“We knew we needed to be there ASAP,” he said, although he still didn’t have the OK to approach the scene. Moments later, a dispatcher told Hiatt the shooter had been “neutralized,” so it was safe to go to the scene.

Hiatt had never seen anything like it. “There was such a tense feeling in the air,” he said. He didn’t know how many shooting victims he would find — or whether any would be police officers or firefighters he knew from work.

“The officers were shouting at us to get over here,” Hiatt said. “This person needs help, this person needs help.”

He saw a wounded police officer lying on the ground, surrounded by fellow officers.

As Hiatt jumped out of his ambulance, he started to formulate a plan. At first, he intended to assume a command role, but quickly got “sucked in” to treating the wounded.

Once three or four ambulances were on hand, he was able to survey the scene. He saw a jumble of police officers and firefighters giving aid as the paramedics worked on the wounded, preparing them for transport to the hospital.

“It was a very surreal incident,” Hiatt said. “There was equipment everywhere. There was blood all over the sidewalk.”

Scanning the scene, he saw a police officer and a firefighter performing CPR on someone — then realized it was the shooter, who would succumb to fatal wounds.

On the berm, Hiatt saw emergency responders caring for a woman, 25-year-old Karlee Koswick, who was involved in the fender-bender and was wounded in the shooting spree. They also were tending to Officer Jake Wallin, who ultimately died from a gunshot wound.

Paramedics had done all they could for the shooting victims; it was time to rush them to the hospital. Moments after the shooter was hit, the first ambulance departed, with others leaving soon after.

The gravity of the shootings began to sink in once the scene was cleared. “All the patients were gone,” Hiatt said. Then, he had a quiet moment to ponder: “What the hell just happened?”

'A sea of blue'

Once alerted that there had been a mass shooting with multiple victims, emergency department teams at Sanford Medical Center scrambled to get ready.

Mass shooting. Multiple victims.

“In drills, we’ve heard those terms, but never in real life,” said Melony Anderson, an emergency room nurse who was called in to help. “It seemed like organized chaos. It was running like a well-oiled machine.

A call was made for more blood units, and doctors and nurses rushed to finish with patients to make room for the shooting victims. “The department was pretty full,” said Nathan Parrett, an emergency room clinical care leader. “We had to shuffle patients around, we had to discharge patients, we had to get patients into the hospital.”

Teams of doctors, nurses and others were assigned to rooms as they waited.

Anna Ferguson, a registered nurse who was on rapid response duty that day, a floating role, turned up at the emergency department to help.

“At first, it was just a sea of blue,” she said, referring to the nurses and doctors standing by in their scrubs. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Then, the first ambulance arrived.

“There’s certainly an intensity in the room, but this is what we train for,” said Sherrie Syverson, Sanford Health emergency room clinical care leader. “Many of us, this is why we go into emergency medicine.”

Fortunately, lots of seasoned members of the emergency department were on hand, said Dr. Paul Bilstad, an ER physician.

“This truly is a team approach, not an individual approach,” he said, with doctors and nurses joined by respiratory therapists, nurse anesthetists, phlebotomists, aides and technicians. “We had all the people at the table that we needed.”

Within about 30 minutes, the emergency department had stabilized the patients in preparation for surgery.

Bilstad turned his attention to other patients who were waiting to be seen in the emergency department, many of whom were following news of the shootings on their phones.

“They were very understanding,” he said. “They said, ‘Take all the time you need.’ I think they realize that the sickest patients have to go to the front of the line. That doesn’t always happen in the emergency department. That day was very different.”

Sorting through chaos

Dr. Enej Gasevic’s hopes that his shift would wrap up early on what had been an uncharacteristically quiet day ended when he was summoned for surgery.

There had been a mass shooting, he was told, and his skills were needed. A trauma surgeon, Gasevic trained at an inner-city medical center in Detroit, where he operated on many gunshot victims.

“That was probably 80% of what we did,” he said. His record was treating 18 gunshot wounds in a shift.

As it happened, Gasevic was not far from the scene of the shootings when the call came in, and he wound up following one of the ambulances to Sanford Medical Center. He was assigned that day to acute surgery, but he was needed in trauma surgery.

Gasevic was assigned to operate on Andrew Dotas, the most critically wounded of the surviving police officers.

After a quick examination, Gasevic knew he would have to treat at least one gunshot wound that had pierced the abdomen and chest — clearly a life-threatening wound.

“There was definitely life-threatening bleeding” requiring “quite a few transfusions,” he said.

“Things went extremely well that day,” he said. “I got really good help, and they made me look good. A lot of it comes down to teamwork.”

At one point, there were between 15 and 20 people in the operating room, each performing a specific role. “It’s really organized chaos,” Gasevic said. “It’s a lot of things happening all at once.”

Later, Gasevic reviewed video of the shootings and saw that Dotas was shot at close range.

“It was essentially across the room,” he said. “At those distances, rifle shots tend to be absolutely devastating.” The surgeon’s job, he said, becomes “damage control surgery” to stop bleeding and eliminate contamination.

Both Dotas and Tyler Hawes, the other surviving Fargo police officer wounded in the shooting, required multiple operations to repair the damage.

“I think I ended up operating on both of them two or three times in the next 72 hours,” Gasevic said. “It’s a process and a project.”

By the weekend, both Dotas and Hawes were breathing without assistance and were beginning their recovery.

“They had some setbacks as you’d expect with this sort of thing,” Gasevic said. “They were young, fit, motivated individuals.”

Over the next two or three weeks, Gasevic became acquainted with Dotas and his wife.

“They’re amazing people,” he said. “I’m honored and privileged to have been able to play a small part in taking care of him.” Gasevic was inspired by Dotas’ dedication and lack of anger. “He took in stride everything that happened,” he said. “He was just somebody doing his job, and someone shot him with a rifle at short range. It’s his job to be there for other people.”

'It can happen anywhere'

Emergency room staff, who trained for years to handle a mass casualty event, had confronted the reality of one.

“It took me a few days to sort out how I felt,” said Parret, who went home to a family birthday celebration after his shift ended on July 14. Now that Fargo has seen a mass shooting, it’s no longer left to the imagination.

“It’s closer to the front of my mind,” he said.

Those who played a part in the medical response to the shootings were proud of what they accomplished but were left with the unsettling knowledge that Fargo isn’t immune to such tragedies.

“You realize if this can happen in Fargo," Syverson said, "it can happen anywhere."

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Before a shooter shattered peace in Fargo, video shows calm officers responding to routine crash

April Baumgarten — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 14:00:00 GMT

FARGO — The July 14 car crash near 25th Street and Ninth Avenue South starts as an ordinary call for four Fargo police officers.

Officer Andrew Dotas, 28, teases his trainee, 22-year-old Officer Tyler Hawes, about putting on a yellow traffic safety vest. Hawes says he wants to follow policy.

Dotas whistles as he walks toward another squad car carrying Officers Zach Robinson and Jake Wallin as they arrive to assist at the scene.

Wallin, a 23-year-old being trained by the 31-year-old Robinson, casually thanks firefighters for responding before sending them on their way.

Seconds later, that routine call turns into a gunman’s ambush on police that changes Fargo forever.

Dozens of shots fired by 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat, of Fargo, rip through the air and shatter the peace. The barrage of bullets kills Wallin and critically injures Hawes, Dotas and Karlee Koswick, who was involved in the fender-bender.

The Forum, WDAY-TV and some other North Dakota media members asked to review all video obtained from the shooting. North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley agreed to allow that and showed the videos to reporters Friday morning, Aug. 25, in a controlled setting. Wrigley said he would not make the videos widely available until the investigation is complete.

"We wanted to review the available, unedited video for the sake of transparency,” said Forum Editor-in-Chief Matthew Von Pinnon. “Even if we choose to not publish some or any of the videos, we wanted to be able to inform our audience of any valuable information conveyed in them."

Video from police body cameras is exempt from open records laws when an investigation is active, though agencies have discretion in releasing footage, according to North Dakota law.

“These are matters of public concern and interest,” Wrigley said.

He earlier made public an edited version of Officer Robinson’s body camera footage, with graphic images blurred. As part of Friday's viewing under Wrigley’s watch, news reporters reviewed the full version of Robinson’s body camera footage, including how he killed Barakat and comforted Officer Dotas, willing him to live.

Other video reviewed includes body camera footage from Dotas, Hawes and Wallin, footage from nearby Big Top Bingo, and a squad car recording showing dozens of officers rushing to the scene to help save the lives of those they could.

A routine crash

Dotas’ and Hawes’ bodycam videos show how they were the first police officers to arrive at the crash scene. A search warrant for nearby business surveillance footage obtained by The Forum shows the crash happened at 2:42 p.m.

Fargo firefighters arrive at the scene at 2:48 p.m., followed a minute later by Dotas, Hawes and an ambulance, according to the search warrant.

Video shows Hawes putting on his yellow traffic vest. He is the only officer to do so.

Koswick, a 25-year-old from the Boston area, rear-ended a vehicle driven by Giacomo Fernandez Giganti, of West Fargo, according to a report from the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

Video shows officers talking to the five occupants of Giganti’s vehicle. The ambulance is allowed to leave because there were no serious injuries reported, Wrigley said. Dotas is seen talking in a calm manner as the officers collect information from Koswick and Giganti.

Watching the scene

As officers investigated the crash, Barakat left his Bluemont Village apartment in the 2800 block of 23rd Avenue South and drove north on 25th Street. He lived about 1.5 miles south of where he would later open fire on officers.

Around 2:53 p.m., Barakat turns his vehicle west onto Ninth Avenue South, according to the search warrant. He pulls into a business office parking lot with an unobstructed view of the crash, according to video from Big Top Bingo.

Authorities later find hundreds of bullets, three rifles, a grenade, gas cans and propane tanks filled with explosives in Barakat’s car. A motive in the shooting hasn’t been released, but Wrigley said investigators believe Barakat planned a mass shooting, possibly at the downtown street fair attended by thousands that afternoon.

What was not found in Barakat’s vehicle was a radio scanner to listen to dispatchers, meaning he couldn’t have known about the crash, Wrigley said. Barakat likely saw an opportunity in the crash to kill officers, which would send other police units to the scene and make his intended mass shooting victims an easy target, Wrigley said.

Video from Big Top shows Barakat driving from the office building parking lot at 2:56 p.m. into the bingo hall lot. He parks in the northeast corner for less than a minute, then heads west on Ninth Avenue South, disappearing out of view for several minutes.

Wrigley said it’s likely Barakat circled the block, as video from Big Top shows him re-entering surveillance footage around 3:01 p.m. just west of the office building near the crash. He then is seen pulling into the parking lot overlooking the crash for the last time.

As he pulls in, Dotas and Hawes try to clear the scene to prevent another crash, according to body camera footage. They ask Giganti to pull into the business office lot since his vehicle is drivable. Big Top video shows Giganti pulling into the lot two spaces south of Barakat’s car.

From peace to chaos

Dotas’ bodycam video shows him walking past a fire truck as he whistles. He then walks up to a squad car that arrives at the scene. Robinson and Wallin, both wearing sunglasses, step out.

They casually walk past the truck.

“Thanks, man,” Wallin says to the firefighters.

Koswick is seen on the west sidewalk, facing away from Barakat’s vehicle.

Dotas, Hawes and Wallin walk on the west berm toward Barakat’s vehicle, seemingly to talk further with Giganti, video shows. Big Top video shows several people from Giganti’s vehicle standing behind that car before the shooting starts.

Barakat spray-painted his windows black, so it’s hard to see him in the vehicle in body camera footage. With Barakat’s blacked-out windows, the approaching officers likely didn’t see what was inside his vehicle, Wrigley said.

The gunman appears to bend down in the driver’s seat, likely to grab a rifle equipped with a binary trigger that allows him to fire one round each when he pulls and releases the trigger.

At the same time, Officer Robinson calls out to Dotas and points north, video shows. Dotas and Hawes turn sideways to look in that direction, while Wallin looks over his shoulder at Robinson to the east, video shows.

That’s when Barakat points his rifle out his window and releases a barrage of bullets, sweeping west to east. Dotas is struck first, followed by Hawes.

One bullet hits Hawes’ body camera, sending it flying through the air. The camera catches glimpses of the scene, including Wallin trying to shoot at Barakat and Koswick running away before she is shot.

Big Top video also shows Giganti and his passengers running and taking shelter behind their car.

Wallin’s video gives a clearer view of how he tried to stop Barakat before being fatally shot. He drops his notepad and pen and runs south to better position himself to shoot Barakat. Wallin fires one round as he pulls out his 9mm handgun, video shows. He aims and steadies his gun with both hands, a nanosecond away from shooting Barakat, video shows.

One bullet from Barakat’s rifle fatally hit Wallin, Wrigley said. The young officer died at the scene.

Robinson calls in the shooting, believing Barakat is firing an AK-47. The officer then fires his 9mm at Barakat, who steps out of his car.

Barakat moves to the passenger side of his car, video shows. That’s where Robinson shoots Barakat in the chest, sending him to the ground and disabling the rifle, Wrigley said.

The gunman fires 44 .223-caliber rounds in roughly 20 seconds before going to the ground, authorities said. Still, he tries to raise his rifle and then a handgun, despite multiple commands from Robinson to surrender.

Robinson fires 31 rounds at Barakat, 21 of which strike him, Wrigley said. Most of the rounds were glancing blows because Barakat was lying on the ground.

A minute and 46 seconds after Barakat opens fire, Robinson is able to move in around the back of Barakat’s vehicle and kill the shooter with five shots.

‘Send everybody’

Armed with a 9mm, Robinson had to try to stop a shooter who could fire multiple rounds in seconds. Video shows Robinson still has the presence of mind to call in what was happening and to ask for backup.

“Send everybody,” Robinson radios at one point.

As the shooting unfolds, an injured Hawes crawls toward Dotas.

Meanwhile, the firefighters who were about to leave the scene start to back up their fire truck in an attempt to block traffic, Wrigley said. One of the truck’s tires is shot out as the truck moves in reverse, video shows.

After the shooting stops, the firefighters jump out to help Hawes and Dotas. Hawes tells them to treat Dotas first, as he was more severely injured, Wrigley said.

Robinson runs to Dotas’ side and squeezes his fellow officer’s hand, trying to comfort the seriously injured officer and willing him to live.

Almost 60 Fargo Police Department staff responded to the scene, along with firefighters, medical personnel and officers from other law enforcement agencies, Wrigley said.

Seconds after the ambush ends, Robinson’s dash camera footage shows more than a dozen police vehicles descending upon the scene from every direction. One responding squad car’s door opens as it is still moving. Officers run past Robinson’s vehicle to help the downed officers. Multiple law enforcement agencies respond. Even an unmarked vehicle from someone who was off duty arrives, Wrigley said.

That scene of officers, firefighters and medical staff arriving lasts for several minutes. Wrigley said police, firefighters’ and emergency responders’ quick actions saved Dotas, Hawes and Koswick.

Though all were critically injured, the three have since been released from the hospital.

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Body camera video shows how Fargo officer ended shooter's rampage on police

Robin Huebner — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 16:50:31 GMT

FARGO — The North Dakota attorney general on Thursday, Aug. 17, released police body camera video from the officer responsible for shooting and killing a gunman who ambushed Fargo police officers on July 14, neutralizing a wider community threat.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski held a news conference Thursday to make public Officer Zach Robinson's body camera video recorded during the shooting that claimed the life of one police officer and injured two other officers and a bystander.

The video, played at Fargo City Hall, was prefaced with a warning that it was disturbing and graphic and that viewer discretion was advised. The three-minute video is digitally blurred "out of respect" in parts, but the audio was not edited, Wrigley said.

It shows the three officers who were struck by Mohamad Barakat's rapid gunfire just seconds before they were hit, and Officer Robinson's immediate response, shouting "Hands up!" multiple times and commanding Barakat to drop the gun at least six times.

In a late July interview with The Forum, Wrigley said body camera video from Officer Jake Wallin shows Wallin unholstered his gun and nearly got a round off on the gunman, 37-year-old Barakat, before he was shot and killed.

On Thursday, Wrigley said Wallin did, in fact, fire one shot before he was struck and killed by Barakat.

The shooting happened as the officers were processing the scene of a routine traffic crash on 25th Street and Ninth Avenue South.

The injured officers, Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes, and a bystander, Karlee Koswick, have since been released from the hospital and are still recovering from their injuries.

On July 21, authorities revealed Barakat had been planning a much larger public attack.

They said Barakat searched online for articles about mass casualty incidents and the Downtown Street Fair, suggesting to authorities he intended to open fire on thousands of people attending the event.

His vehicle was loaded with three long rifles, four handguns, more than 1,800 .223-caliber bullets, three canisters filled with gasoline, and two propane tanks filled with Tannerite, explosive materials used for target practice.

Wrigley said body camera video from the other three officers would not be released Thursday but perhaps at a later time, out of respect and sensitivity for their families.

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WATCH: Fargo police officer in July 14 shooting released from hospital

John Lamb — Sat, 05 Aug 2023 21:25:37 GMT

FARGO — The Fargo Police Department announced Saturday afternoon that Officer Andrew Dotas was released from Sanford Health.

Dotas has been hospitalized since he was injured in the July 14 shooting that killed fellow Officer Jake Wallin and wounded Officer Tyler Hawes and a bystander, Karlee Koswick.

All were shot by 37-year-old Mohammed Barakat in what authorities described as an ambush on 25th Street South after police responded to a routine car crash. Barakat was shot and killed by Officer Zach Robinson at the scene.

In Saturday’s announcement, the Fargo Police Department requested that the media not attend Dotas’ hospital release out of respect for the officer and his family. Video from his release was later made available by the city.

The announcement added that Officer Hawes continues his recovery. Earlier this week it was revealed his status had been upgraded to stable.

Koswick has already been discharged from the hospital.

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Police visited home of Fargo shooter in 2021 following concerns about guns and threats

Robin Huebner — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 22:56:28 GMT

FARGO — The gunman who killed one Fargo police officer and seriously wounded two other officers and a bystander on July 14 was visited by police two years ago this month following a complaint made about his mental state and a cache of weapons, the FBI says.

An anonymous tip that was received in July 2021 to the FBI's National Threat Operations Center expressed concern about Mohamad Barakat's mental state, his access to a significant number of firearms and his use of threatening language, the FBI said in response to The Forum's request for information about a Guardian Report mentioned by law enforcement officials.

"However, the caller did not provide details about any specific threats made by Barakat and did not say he had violated any laws. Upon receiving the tip, FBI Minneapolis forwarded the matter to the Fargo Police Department," the FBI said in an email.

Fargo police initiated three separate visits over a period of two weeks at the residence of Barakat; no contact was made during the first and second visits, but detectives did make contact on the third visit, the FBI said.

"During this visit, detectives observed Barakat had several firearms in the apartment; however, none of them were illegal. Barakat was not prohibited from acquiring or possessing guns. Detectives conducted an interview with Barakat regarding a tip that had been received, during which time he denied any ill-intentions," the agency told The Forum.

The FBI went on to say it takes all tips and concerns brought to its attention seriously, especially those related to potential threats to public safety and well-being.

"As there was no evidence of any ongoing illegal activities or indications of an imminent threat, it was determined that no further action could be taken," the FBI said in its response to The Forum's request.

The Fargo Police Department earlier declined an open records request for any incident reports that mentioned Barakat. That includes police reports filed before the shooting because the BCI and FBI requested them, said Jean Syverson, records office manager for the Fargo Police Department.

“Until their case is closed or inactive, the information you requested cannot be released," she said.

A week after the ambush shooting, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley acknowledged the existence of a Guardian Report on Barakat, 37, who came from his native Syria to the U.S. in 2012 after being granted asylum.

He said after the July 14 shooting, the FBI seemed interested in Barakat right away and state and local law enforcement were glad to receive the agency’s help.

“But we were wondering, what aren’t they telling us?” Wrigley said during a follow-up interview with The Forum.

Wrigley said he first learned of the existing Guardian Report that Friday evening, just hours after Barakat fired on officers from the open driver’s side window of his parked vehicle as they processed a routine traffic accident along 25th Street, just north of 9th Avenue South.

Barakat killed Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin and seriously injured officers Tyler Hawes and Andrew Dotas, as well as bystander Karlee Koswick.

The fourth police officer on the scene, Zach Robinson, shot Barakat dead.

Wrigley said Barakat had searched online multiple times about mass casualty incidents and the night before the shooting, searched articles about the Downtown Street Fair in Fargo, suggesting to authorities he was on his way to attack people attending the event that day.

A federal website describes the FBI’s Guardian system as "a web-enabled counterterrorism incident management system that supports the FBI's role in defending the United States and its interests abroad from the threat of terrorism.”

The system receives, assesses, disseminates and retains threats, suspicious activities and events, the website said.

North Dakota U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider wouldn’t elaborate on the report relating to Barakat, but offered this description of the FBI’s Guardian system.

“Essentially, it’s a way for the public to engage with law enforcement and notify them about things of concern,” he said during a July 21 news conference.

Schneider declined a request for further information about the Guardian system and Barakat and referred The Forum to the Minneapolis FBI field office.

The Guardian system got its start not long after September 11, 2001, when four coordinated terrorist attacks were carried out by Islamist extremist group al-Qaeda.

Several FBI field offices began using an application called the Terrorist Activity Reporting System to track and monitor terrorist threats, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General.

In 2002, that system was upgraded in a pilot program called Guardian, and in 2004, Guardian was deployed throughout the FBI.

The agency also developed an additional threat tracking system called e-Guardian.

It allows sharing of possible threats or suspicious activities between the FBI and other federal agencies, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement bodies that do not have access to Guardian.

In those instances, Wrigley said, the FBI shares the tip with the corresponding jurisdictional agency. This is what happened when the FBI received the tip on Barakat in 2021.

Both Guardian and e-Guardian appear separate from another program called Project Guardian, a Department of Justice initiative started in 2019 aimed at reducing gun violence and enforcing federal firearms laws.

Barakat had no criminal history in North Dakota or any other state, and his firearms were purchased legally, Wrigley has said previously.

He also said previously the Guardian Report on Barakat did not involve a threat of violence or an act of this nature (the shooting).

Mohamad Barakat’s name was not on any of the U.S. terrorist watch lists, he said.

Wrigley said state Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) agents are not turning away from considering that others may have worked with Barakat, but have a “pretty good feeling” he is a lone-wolf actor.

He also referenced Arabic writings seized from Barakat’s apartment, and said the FBI should speed up its analysis of them.

“I told the FBI, ‘I’m taking your guys' quietness on this as being you don't see anything alarming in the Arabic writings,” Wrigley said.

In another matter related to Barakat, an adviser to the Moorhead Fargo Islamic Center said he searched through video from surveillance cameras in the mosque and did not see Barakat in any of the footage.

However, Sajid Ghauri said there is a limited window of 30 days of recordings.

Also, he said many mosque members he’s spoken with still did not recognize Barakat, even after his image was released by law enforcement.

Area leaders in the Islamic faith have previously rejected any affiliation with Barakat, who they said did not attend mosques in Fargo or Moorhead, and have refused to handle Barakat's funeral arrangements.

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Fargo community shares memories of Jake Wallin in tribute to fallen 'hero'

Robin Huebner — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 01:00:47 GMT

FARGO — Jake Wallin didn’t want his family and fiancée coming to the ceremony in April of this year where he would receive his badge and be sworn in as a Fargo Police Officer.

His father, Jeff Wallin, said his son was very protective of loved ones but decided to let them attend.

Even after receiving his badge, Jake Wallin still didn’t want family telling anyone what he did for a living, with that “protective force” kicking in again.

“Little did he know at the time that the event was a public event and it was all over the Fargo Police website,” said Jeff Wallin, prompting laughter from those listening.

It was one of several moments of levity during a public celebration of life service for Jake Wallin, 23, killed in the line of duty when a gunman opened fire on officers and a civilian as the officers processed the scene of a routine traffic crash on Friday, July 14.

The two hour service on Wednesday, July 26 at Scheels Arena in Fargo was attended by thousands of state and local uniformed law enforcement officers, deputies, firefighters, troopers, first responders and members of the public.

The stage was adorned with greenery and a smiling photo of Jake Wallin front and center, with a live orchestra playing in the background.

A solemn procession of law enforcement professionals marched up the aisle and lined either side of the path, standing to attention as Jake Wallin’s family and friends were escorted to the front of the proceedings.

'He saved my life that day'

Jeff Wallin, attending with his wife Amy, their other son Brady, Jake Wallin's fiancée Winter Malone and the couple's dog Thor, was one of several “surprise” speakers not previously announced.

They also included officers Tyler Hawes and Andrew Dotas appearing via video, both wearing “We are Fargo PD” t-shirts and speaking from their hospital beds as they continue to recover from their injuries sustained in the shooting.

The video brought a palpable sense of relief to the arena, to see the injured officers in such good spirits.

Hawes, wearing a black sling on his right arm, said Jake Wallin was a reliable and loyal person.

“I could always count on the fact that he had my back. As a grown man, you’re not supposed to have heroes but Jake Wallin will forever be my hero,” he said.

Hawes passed along feelings of gratitude to the crowd.

“I hate that he had to make the sacrifice, but he saved my life that day," Hawes said."I’ll always be grateful that he went down fighting. He went down as the man that we know him as. And everyday is a gift for me now.”

Dotas said with Jake Wallin's attitude and positivity when approaching others, one would never know he’d been on the job for only a few months.

“I think the biggest takeaway that I'm going to have from Jake Wallin is that's all it takes sometimes, you know, to connect with people,” Dotas said.

Officer Zach Robinson, who shot 37-year-old gunman Mohamad Barakat dead that fateful day, also spoke on video, saying how proud he is of Jake action's.

Robinson was training Jake Wallin on the day of the shooting. In recently reviewed footage from Jake Wallin's body cam, he had unholstered his weapon and was a "nanosecond' away from firing a round at his attacker when he was shot.

During Jake Wallin’s funeral procession last weekend, Robinson was touched to see crowds of people lining the streets of every small town between Fargo and Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, as the department brought the fallen officer back home to his family.

Jake Wallin's body, dressed in his Fargo Police uniform, was cremated, according to a City of Fargo news release. His remains were buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Nisswa, Minnesota.

To the mourning family, Robinson's words were simple.

“Thank you for raising such a good son, “ he said.

Leaders pay tribute

The service also featured tributes from North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley, Fargo Police Chief Dave Zibolski and Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney.

Burgum said Jake Wallin was a shining example, and had checked many meaningful boxes in his too-short life.

“Live to serve, check. Work with purpose, check. Make a difference, take the biggest check mark you can find and put it by Jake Wallin’s name,” Burgum said, his voice choked with emotion.

Zibolski said the St. Michael, Minnesota native had impeccable character and a strong moral compass. During interviews before his hiring, Jake Wallin spoke of two instances that demonstrated those traits, the police chief added.

Working once as a delivery driver, he found a $100 bill on a driveway and promptly went to the homeowner's door to return it. In another instance, a fellow driver was involved in a crash with a company vehicle and wasn't being forthcoming about what happened. Jake Wallin reported the truth to his boss.

"We need more Jakes in our department," Zibolski said. “Our department is extremely proud of Jake, and all of our heroes. His memory will serve as an inspiration … and we will always remember his service and sacrifice.”

Community comes together

Prior to the event, the parking lot at Scheels Arena in Fargo filled slowly but surely as people filtered in to pay their respects.

Several members of the community lined the streets to watch the procession as it drove past, including Suzanne Hammer and April Schmidt, who both took the day off work.

Schmidt wore an American flag shawl to show support for Wallin’s family and the Fargo Police Department.

“My cousin is new to the police department, so I’m out here supporting her and the sacrifices the officers made to protect our community,” Hammer said.

Nearby, a line of tow trucks from Aggressive Towing & Recovery were parked in the grass with lights flashing. The company wanted to show support without taking away from the procession, employee Ashley Miller said

“We work hand-in-hand with a few of the local agencies (police departments),” Miller said. “We felt like it was our turn to come out and support, and show them that we have their back. It’s our turn to take that role."

The procession passed around 12:10 p.m., and many people headed inside, but Jeremy Raso and Jennifer Raso chose to remain outside. Jeremy Raso regained his position walking up and down the sidewalk with a flag.

“We didn’t think our time could be spent more wisely than to pay respects and show our appreciation for the police officers who are serving,” he said.

'He will always be just Jake'

Jeff Wallin said his son would not harbor any regrets about being at the scene of the shooting.

“He was not in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was exactly where his heart and determination for his fellow man dictated, that he should be there at that moment," Jeff Wallin said.

Jeff Wallin also spoke of his son's journey that led him to joining the Fargo Police Department.

At first, Jake Wallin wasn’t sure what he wanted to do when he graduated, his dad said. However, one day he announced that he wanted to join the military.

After he returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, he told his parents he was going to work toward a job at the Fargo Police Department.

Children should follow their dreams, Jeff Wallin said, and parents should support them no matter what.

“To others, he was Officer Jake Wallin,” his dad said, “But to us, he will always be just Jake.”

Forum reporter Paige Naughton contributed to this story.]]>

Body cam video shows slain Fargo officer was 'nanosecond' away from firing on gunman

Robin Huebner — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 04:18:31 GMT

FARGO — Newly-reviewed body camera video shows a previously unknown act of bravery from the July 14 shootings of three Fargo police officers.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said Officer Jake Wallin’s body cam footage shows Wallin unholstered his gun and nearly got a round off on the gunman, 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat.

Wrigley told The Forum he hasn’t yet seen the video firsthand, but described what agents with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) said they saw when they viewed it.

“Both the agents who saw it agree that he was just a nanosecond away from being able to pull off a round when he was struck by the single bullet,” Wrigley said of Wallin.

Based on the first few videos available, it was announced at a July 21 news conference that the 23-year-old officer was the first of three to be shot by Barakat as they processed the scene of a routine traffic crash on 25th Street and Ninth Avenue South.

Wrigley said that's because Wallin was closer to Barakat’s vehicle parked in a business complex parking lot just west of the crash site, a step-and-a-half in front of the other two officers.

One early video reviewed was from a surveillance camera on Big Top Bingo, south of the crash scene. Wrigley said it shows the back of Barakat’s vehicle from the passenger side at a severe angle, some distance away.

In body camera video from Officer Zach Robinson, who ended the threat by shooting and killing Barakat, Wallin’s knees appear to buckle as if he were going down, Wrigley said.

But when BCI Chief Agent Casey Miller and others were able to get Wallin’s body cam footage downloaded, they saw something different, Wrigley said.

Wallin wasn’t falling but was lunging to the side, tossing a tablet from his right hand to his left hand in one swoop, then pulling out his service weapon in an effort to get off a shot.

It was alarming how close Barakat was to the officers.

“You can see the gas come out of the firearm… the gas from the rounds,” he said.

Wrigley said video indicates the three officers were fired upon in rapid succession.

Officer Andrew Dotas went down first, then Officer Tyler Hawes, wearing a neon traffic vest over his uniform, then Officer Wallin. Robinson was still out in the street at the crash site when the shooting began.

Dotas and Hawes are still hospitalized and recovering from their serious injuries, as is Karlee Koswick, the driver of one of the vehicles in the traffic crash who was shot by Barakat as she tried to run away.

Wrigley said the other two police videos don’t show as much of the incident, as Hawes’ body camera came off when he was shot and Dotas ended up on his back when he was shot, with the camera aimed straight up.

Wrigley said he’s eager to get all of the videos released sooner rather than later, perhaps next week.

On July 21, authorities revealed that Barakat had been planning a much larger public attack.

His vehicle was also loaded with three long rifles, four handguns, more than 1,800 .223-caliber bullets, three canisters filled with gasoline and two propane tanks filled with Tannerite, explosive materials used for target practice.

Two of the rifles had scopes, and one had a binary trigger, Wrigley said. That trigger, on the gun used to shoot at officers, can fire one bullet when the trigger is pulled and a second round when the trigger is released.

It’s not known yet why Barakat stopped near the accident scene, which he cased for several minutes before parking in the lot of the business complex.

A funeral for Wallin was held Saturday, July 22, in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota for family, friends and fellow officers.

A public service in Fargo takes place at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, at Scheels Arena.

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