University of California, Merced stabbing attack

Last updated

University of California, Merced stabbing attack
Merced County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Merced Highlighted.svg
Location of Merced in the state of California.
Location Merced, California, United States
Coordinates 37°21′58″N120°25′25″W / 37.366°N 120.4235°W / 37.366; -120.4235
DateNovember 4, 2015 (2015-11-04)
c. 8:00 a.m. – c. 8:15 a.m. (PT)
TargetStudents and faculty at UC Merced
Attack type
 Mass stabbing, Islamic terrorism
WeaponsHunting knife
Deaths1 (the perpetrator)
Injured4
PerpetratorFaisal Mohammad
Motive ISIS-inspired terrorism [1]

On November 4, 2015, 18-year-old student Faisal Mohammad stabbed and injured four people with a hunting knife on the campus of the University of California, Merced, in Merced, California. [2] He was subsequently shot and killed.

Contents

Attack

The attack began at about 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and was over in about fifteen minutes. [3] [4] [5] The first attacks took place near the center of campus, inside a classroom at the Classroom and Office Building, then continued outside the building until Mohammad was shot by UC Merced police officers. [6] [7] Two of the victims were airlifted to hospital; two were treated on campus for minor injuries. [8]

Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke stated that the weapon used in the attack was a hunting knife between 8 and 10 inches in length. [9] [10]

The planned attack (see below) was thwarted by a student, Tyler Patton, and construction worker, Byron Price, who was working in a nearby hallway. [11] During Mohammad's initial attack, Patton attacked him with classroom furniture, disrupting the attack. [12] Mohammad then tried to flee the room and ran into Price as Price was entering. Mohammad stabbed him in the side, then ran out of the room and down the stairs, attempting to stab more students as he fled. He then rushed out of the building and attacked a member of the university staff, stabbing her several times. Mohammad then fled across the Scholar's Lane pedestrian bridge at the center of campus, where two campus police officers gave chase, then shot and killed him. [9] [13] [14] According to Price, Mohammad "looked scared" during the attack, but in addition to seeing fear "in his eyes," Price said, "He also looked like he was having fun... He was smiling." [15]

An investigation found that the police had acted properly in shooting the attacker when he refused to drop his weapon and, instead, lunged at one of them. [16]

Victims

The stabbing victims included two students; one staff member; and Byron Price, an employee of a construction company who was at work on a building renovation when the stabbing began. All four victims suffered from non-life-threatening injuries, [17] [18] and recovered with no lifelong effects. [19]

Perpetrator

The attacker was identified as 18-year-old Faisal Mohammad (born October 25, 1997), a first-year student from Santa Clara. [20] He graduated from Wilcox High School in 2015. [15] The attacker's name had not been released on the day of the attack to give authorities time to contact the next of kin. [9]

Mohammad was born in the United States. [21] Authorities have found no indication that he suffered from mental illness. [21] High school friends described him as a "pleasant, quiet boy" who enjoyed going to a mosque. [22]

The backpack Mohammad was carrying contained "zip-tie handcuffs, two clear bags containing petroleum jelly, a night-vision scope, a safety hammer, two rolls of duct tape." The sheriff described the hammer as a "device used to break windows". [23]

Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was brought into the investigation. [15] [24] On March 17, 2016, the FBI concluded that Mohammad was inspired by ISIS and that the attack was an instance of lone-wolf terrorism. ISIS propaganda was found on Mohammad's computer, and he was also found to have visited extremist websites in the days preceding the attack. [1] [25]

Mohammad left a manifesto in his pocket, detailing his plans. His original plan had been to use the tape to bind the other students to their desks and report the situation to police, steal a gun from a responding police officer, and use it to murder students who had refused to include him in their study group. He had also planned to cut someone's head off. [10] [26] He intended to spread the petroleum jelly on the floor to make responding police slip and fall while he stole their guns. [27] Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke initially said that although the manifesto made several references to Allah, the attack had nothing to do with religion or terrorism, and Mohammad was motivated by anger over being excluded from the study group. [27] [28] [29]

Sheriff Warnke later amended his comments to state that new information had come to light on November 7, which had led to the Merced County Sheriff's Department handing formal control over the investigation to UC Merced and the FBI. [30] A law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to the Merced Sun-Star newspaper, stated that the style of clothing worn by the attacker, along with websites he had visited and a printout of an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) flag found among his possessions, all contributed to the decision to hand control of the investigation to federal authorities. [30] [19]

The FBI categorically denies it was aware of any "derogatory information" about Mohammad or that he had been the subject of any federal investigation prior to the stabbing. [31]

On December 11, Mohammad's roommate described him to federal investigators as "a loner and an extreme Muslim", also stating that he was not surprised by the incident. The roommate also recalled an incident when a friend had asked Mohammad what would happen if he touched the mat Mohammad used for praying and Mohammad had replied, "I will kill you." [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zodiac Killer</span> Serial killer in California in the 1960s

The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history," and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elias Abuelazam</span> Israeli murder convict (born 1976)

Elias Abuelazam, also known as Elias Abullazam, is an Israeli convicted murderer, and a suspect of serial killings and stabbings with a racial motive. He is suspected in a string of eighteen stabbing attacks from May to August 2010 which resulted in five deaths. Most of the alleged attacks occurred in Genesee County, Michigan. Five stabbings occurred elsewhere: three in Leesburg, Virginia, one in Toledo, Ohio, and one in his native home in Ramla, Israel. All of his alleged victims were described as "small framed" men, most of them African Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring High School stabbing</span> Stabbing attack in Texas, United States

On September 4, 2013, one student was killed and three others were wounded in a stabbing attack at Spring High School in Spring, Texas, United States. A 17-year-old student, identified as Luis Alonzo Alfaro, was arrested and charged for the murder. In September 2014, Alfaro was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Franklin Regional High School stabbing was a mass stabbing that took place on April 9, 2014, at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Alexander Hribal, a 16-year-old sophomore at the school, used a pair of eight-inch kitchen knives to stab and slash 20 students and a security guard. Four students sustained life-threatening injuries, but all survived.

On April 15, 2014, Matthew de Grood, son of Calgary Police Inspector Doug de Grood, stabbed five young adults to death at a house party in the Brentwood neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The party was several blocks away from the University of Calgary campus, and held to mark the end of its school year. This incident marked the deadliest massacre in Calgary's history.

List of violent events related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict occurring in the second half of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lions' Gate stabbings</span> 2015 incident in Jerusalem, Israel

On 3 October 2015, a Palestinian resident of al-Bireh attacked the Benita family near the Lions' Gate in Jerusalem, as they were on their way to the Western Wall to pray. The attacker murdered Aaron Benita, the father of the family, and injured the mother Adele and their 2-year-old son Matan. Nehemia Lavi, a resident who heard screams and came to help was also murdered and his gun taken by the assailant. The attacker, 19 year old Muhanad Shafeq Halabi was shot and killed by police as he was firing on pedestrians.

On September 17, 2016, Dahir A. Adan, a 22-year-old, Kenyan-born American man, stabbed ten people while wielding two knives at the Crossroads Center shopping mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He was shot dead inside the mall by an off-duty law enforcement officer who intervened. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the incident to uncover a possible motive, including terrorism. Authorities said Adan may have been inspired by radical Islamic ideology, but they did not assign a motive for his actions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop International Airport attack</span> 2017 stabbing in Flint, Michigan, US

On June 21, 2017, Airport Police Lieutenant Jeff Neville was stabbed in the neck at Bishop International Airport in the city of Flint, Michigan, in the United States. The assailant, Amor Ftouhi, yelled, "Allahu akbar" during the attack. Ftouhi was travelling on a Canadian passport. Numerous law enforcement agencies responded and the airport was evacuated. Bomb sniffing dogs searched the evacuated airport for evidence of a larger-scale attack, but found nothing. Ftouhi was charged with committing violence at an international airport and interfering with airport security. He was later charged with committing an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. He was found guilty of all three charges in November 2018, and was sentenced to life in federal prison in April 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Ohio State University attack</span> 2016 Ohio terrorist attack

On November 28, 2016, a terrorist vehicle-ramming and stabbing attack occurred at 9:52 a.m. EST at Ohio State University's Watts Hall in Columbus, Ohio. The attacker, Somali refugee Abdul Razak Ali Artan, was shot and killed by the first responding OSU police officer, and 13 people were hospitalized for injuries.

On 12 May 2018, a 20-year-old Chechnya-born French citizen, armed with a knife, killed one pedestrian and injured four others near the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris, France, before being fatally shot by police. The stabbings were in the area of Rue Saint-Augustin and Passage Choiseul. French President Emmanuel Macron said France had "paid once again the price of blood but will not cede an inch to the enemies of freedom." The suspect, identified as Khamzat Azimov, had been on a counter-terrorism watchlist since 2016. Amaq News Agency posted a video of a hooded person pledging allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, claimed to be the attacker. Europol classified the attack as jihadist terrorism.

A mass stabbing is a single incident in which multiple victims are injured or killed with a sharp object thrusted at the victims, piercing through the skin and injuring the victims. Examples of sharp instruments used in mass stabbings may include kitchen knives, utility knives, sheath knives, scissors, katanas, icepicks, bayonets, axes, machetes and glass bottles. Knife crime poses security threats to many countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting</span> Mass shooting at Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida

On the morning of December 6, 2019, a terrorist attack occurred at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida. The assailant killed three men and injured eight others. The shooter was killed by Escambia County sheriff deputies after they arrived at the scene. He was identified as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, an Air Force aviation student from Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2021 Tokyo stabbings</span> 2021 mass stabbing incident in Tokyo, Japan

A mass stabbing incident occurred 6 August 2021, on a commuter train in the Odakyu Electric Railway in Tokyo, Japan. Ten people were injured in the incident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 University of Idaho killings</span> Mass stabbing in Moscow, Idaho, U.S.

In the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were fatally stabbed in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho. On December 30, suspect Bryan Christopher Kohberger was arrested in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. A jury trial is currently scheduled to begin on August 11, 2025, in Boise, Idaho.

References

  1. 1 2 Savransky, Rebecca (March 17, 2016). "Student in campus stabbing inspired by 'terrorist propaganda'". The Hill. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Faisal Mohammad". FBI. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ Koren, Marina (November 4, 2015). "Stabbing on California College Campus". The Atlantic . Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  4. ↑ Hauser, Christine (November 4, 2015). "5 Are Stabbed at University of California in Merced". New York Times. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  5. ↑ Martinez, Michael (November 4, 2015). "Student-suspect fatally shot after stabbing 5 at UC Merced". CNN. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Calif. university stabbing suspect was male student". WKTV. AP. November 4, 2015. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ Serna, Joseph (November 4, 2015). "Assailant killed by police after stabbing five on UC Merced campus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Latest: Stabbing victims all conscious when help arrived". No. November 4, 2015. WECT. AP. Retrieved November 4, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. 1 2 3 Kuhn, Andrew (November 5, 2015). "Stabbing suspect who wounded 4 lived on campus". Merced Sun-Star. AP. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Campus assailant planned to steal police guns". Merced Sun-Star. AP. November 5, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ Giwargis, Ramona (November 2, 2015). "Manifesto detailed Faisal Mohammad's revenge plot". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  12. ↑ Gray, Adam C. (February 29, 2016). "UC MERCED HEROES RECEIVE STANDING OVATION AT STATE CAPITAL". All Merced News. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  13. ↑ Marcum, Diana (November 5, 2015). "Man praised as hero for thwarting UC Merced stabbing rampage". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  14. ↑ Rose, Sontaya (November 5, 2015). "Construction worker turns hero when he tried to take on UC Merced attacker". ABC News. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 Parsons, Rob (November 5, 2015). "Witness: Attacker "smiled" as he slashed victims at UC Merced". Merced Sun-Star. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Investigation finds UC Merced police justified in shooting student attacker". Fresno Bee. Merced Sun-Star. December 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ Branson-Potts, Haley (November 4, 2015). "Student shot and killed by police after stabbing four on UC Merced campus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ "4 stabbed at UC Merced, suspect shot and killed by police". ABC7 News. November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  19. 1 2 "UC Merced stabber had ISIS flag among his belongings, report says". Fox News. November 10, 2015. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  20. ↑ Parsons, Rob (November 5, 2015). "Suspect identified in UC Merced stabbing spree". Merced Sun-Star . Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  21. 1 2 Elias, Paul. "UC Merced student who stabbed 4 sought revenge". Los Angeles Times. AP. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  22. ↑ Nelson, Katie (November 5, 2015). "UC Merced student tossed from study group had 'manifesto' on violent revenge". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  23. ↑ Marcum, Diane (November 5, 2015). "No indication of terrorism in UC Merced attacks, chancellor says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  24. ↑ Miracle, Veronica (November 5, 2015). "Suitemate of UC Merced stabbing suspect talks". ABC News. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Chattanooga shooting a 'terror attack,' FBI Director James Comey says". Fox News. December 16, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  26. ↑ McKay, Hollie (November 9, 2015). "California campus begins to heal as questions swirl after stabbing attack". Fox News. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  27. 1 2 "Calif. university stabber shot dead after lunging at officer, student says". Fox News. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  28. ↑ Serna, Joseph; Branson-Potts, Hailey; Marcum, Diana (November 5, 2015). "UC Merced assailant was angry over study group snub, note says". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  29. ↑ "UC Merced Attacker's Plan For Revenge Is Called Delusional". CBS. AP. November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  30. 1 2 Kuhn, Andrew (November 9, 2015). "New questions emerge about background of UC Merced attacker". Merced Sun-Star. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  31. ↑ Hamilton, Matt (November 10, 2015). "UC Merced attacker's family voices sympathy for victims in first comments since rampage". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  32. ↑ Morgante, Michelle (December 11, 2015). "UC Merced stabber sat in silence minutes before starting attack". Fresno Bee. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.