Three people were killed after a man went on a shooting spree in downtown Fresno, California on Tuesday before he was tackled and taken into custody, police said. </s> A gunman opened fire in downtown Fresno, California, on Tuesday, killing three people before he was taken into custody, local media reported, citing police.

The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad, was also wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a security guard at a Motel 6 in Fresno on Sunday, the Fresno Bee newspaper reported.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Muhammad had expressed a hatred for white people and shouted "Allahu Akhbar" as he was being taken into custody, the Bee reported.

Fresno is an agricultural hub in California's central valley, about 170 miles southeast of San Francisco.

The Bee reported that the gunman opened fire with a large-caliber handgun while cursing shortly before 11 a.m. near a Catholic Charities building.

County government buildings were placed on lockdown and residents were urged to shelter in place, according to the newspaper.

Local television images showed what appeared to be a body covered in a yellow tarp in a street near where police tape marked off several crime scenes. </s> {"id":46875968,"title":"Three people fatally shot in downtown Fresno, California","duration":"2:09","description":"The shooting spree ended after the 39-year-old suspect was taken into custody while yelling \"Allah Akbar\"","url":"/WNT/video/people-fatally-shot-downtown-fresno-california-46875968","section":"WNT","mediaType":"default"} </s> FRESNO, Calif. — A gunman opened fire in downtown Fresno, California, on Tuesday, killing three people before he was taken into custody, local media reported, citing police.

The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad, was also wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a security guard at a Motel 6 in Fresno on Sunday, the Fresno Bee newspaper reported.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Muhammad had expressed a hatred for white people and shouted “Allahu Akhbar” as he was being taken into custody, the Bee reported.

Authorities say the man fired 16 rounds in one minute.

Police said he was armed with a revolver and reloaded at one point. He opened fire at four locations within a block.

Muhammad was arrested shortly after the shooting.

He reportedly shouted “God is great!” in Arabic before the killings. All three victims in Tuesday’s killings were white men, and Muhammad is black.

Dyer says police have called the FBI to assist in the investigation.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. says one of its employees was killed during a shooting in downtown Fresno that left two others dead.

Police say the PG&E employee, who has not been identified, was sitting in the passenger seat of his work truck when the suspect walked up and shot him. The driver of the truck sped off to the police department for help.

The utility says in a statement it’s cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate what led the suspect to open fire Tuesday at four locations within a block. </s> A 39-year-old suspect told police that he hated white people after he was arrested for killing three people in Fresno, California, on Tuesday.

The alleged gunman, Kori Ali Muhammad, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” — “God is great” in Arabic — when police took him into custody after his cold-blooded murder spree. Muhammad opened fired shortly before 11 a.m. PT with a high-caliber pistol near a Catholic Charities building in downtown Fresno. Using a speed loader, he fired off 16 rounds in four locations in less than a minute, reports Reuters.

His three victims, all white males, were seemingly chosen at random and had no apparent connection to the gunman. The first was shot multiple times while sitting in a gas and electric truck, the other two were gunned down on foot — one while crossing the street, and the other in the parking lot of the Catholic Charities, according to NBC. The gunman, who was also on foot, fired at another individual, but missed.

A ShotSpotter alerted Fresno police to the gunfire; cops closed in on the suspect as he was running down the street, reports the Fresno Bee. Muhammad, who referred to himself as “Black Jesus,” has a lengthy criminal record, and his Facebook page was reportedly full of ranting posts against white people and “anti-government sentiment.” Authorities had been searching for Muhammad in connection with the murder of a security guard at a Fresno Motel 6 last week.

Fresno police have not yet said whether they are classifying this as a terror attack. The investigation is ongoing, with assistance from the FBI and ATF. </s> A gunman opened fire in downtown Fresno, California, on Tuesday, killing three people before he was taken into custody, local media reported, citing police.

The suspect, who was not immediately identified by authorities, was also wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a security guard at a Fresno Motel on Sunday, the Fresno Bee newspaper reported.

Fresno is an agricultural hub in California’s central valley, about 170 miles southeast of San Francisco. </s> FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – The Latest on a fatal shooting near a Catholic Charities facility in downtown Fresno, California (all times local):

The imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno says the suspect in a shooting that killed three people was not a member of his center.

Sayed Ali Ghazvini said Tuesday that he and other faith leaders are trying to identify Kori Ali Muhammad.

Authorities say Muhammad yelled “God is great” in Arabic while being taken into custody. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says he also told authorities he hates white people. All three victims were white.

Ghazvini offered prayers to the victims and their families. He said that members are shocked.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says the suspect in a shooting that killed three people in downtown Fresno told police he hates white people and shouted “God is great” in Arabic before the killings.

All three victims in Tuesday’s killings were white. The police chief says they were shot minutes apart in close proximity in areas around downtown.

Thirty-nine-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad was arrested shortly afterward. He was already wanted for a separate killing from last week, in which a Motel 6 security guard in Fresno was gunned down.

Dyer says police have called the FBI to assist in the investigation. He says the suspect made other statements to police but did not disclose what they were.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says three people have been killed in a shooting in the downtown central California city.

He says a suspect is in custody. The shooting happened Tuesday morning near a Catholic Charities building.

Ashlee Wolf of Catholic Charities told the Fresno Bee newspaper (http://bit.ly/2oK6Vzc) that the shooting happened at a bus stop near the charity.

Wolf says the charity doesn’t believe the shooter was tied to Catholic Charities.

Emergency officials say a shooting has killed one person and injured two others in downtown Fresno.

Dan Lynch of Fresno County Emergency Medical Services says the two wounded by gunfire have been transported to hospitals.

Fresno city spokesman Mark Standriff says county offices are on lockdown, and people have been urged to shelter in place. Few other details were immediately known.

Ashlee Wolf of Catholic Charities told the Fresno Bee newspaper (http://bit.ly/2oK6Vzc ) the shooting happened at a bus stop near the charity.

Wolf says the charity doesn’t believe the shooter was tied to Catholic Charities. She says the charity is working with police to provide information. </s> A road is blocked by police tape after a multiple victim shooting incident in downtown Fresno, California, U.S. April 18, 2017. Fresno County Sheriff/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - A gunman with an apparent dislike of white people and government killed three people in downtown Fresno, California, on Tuesday, before he was taken into custody while shouting "Allahu Akhbar," police said.

The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad, was also wanted in connection with the fatal shooting last week of an unarmed security guard at a Motel 6 in Fresno, Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters at a press conference.

Dyer said Muhammad fired at least 16 rounds in less than a minute at four downtown Fresno locations at about 10:45 a.m. local time before he was spotted running through the streets by a police officer.

"Immediately upon the individual seeing the officer he literally dove onto the ground and was taken into custody and as he was taken into custody he yelled out 'Allahu Akhbar,'" Dyer said. The term means "God is great" in Arabic.

"He does not like white people," Dyer said, citing the black suspect's statements after being arrested and his Facebook postings. At least two of his victims were white.

Dyer said his department had contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation over the incident.

The Fresno Bee newspaper reported that the gunman opened fire with a large-caliber handgun while cursing shortly before 11 a.m. near a Catholic Charities building.

Fresno is an agricultural hub in California's central valley, about 170 miles southeast of San Francisco.

County government buildings were placed on lockdown and residents were urged to shelter in place, according to the newspaper.

Local television images showed what appeared to be a body covered in a yellow tarp in a street near where police tape marked off several crime scenes. </s> A gunman who went by the nickname Black Jesus killed three white men in downtown Fresno, California, on Tuesday, and fired at another before he was taken into custody while shouting “Allahu Akhbar,” police said.

The suspect, 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad, was also wanted in connection with the fatal shooting last week of an unarmed security guard at a Motel 6 in Fresno, Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters at a press conference.

Dyer said Muhammad fired at least 16 rounds from a large-caliber handgun in less than a minute at four downtown Fresno locations at about 10:45 a.m. local time before he was spotted running through the streets by a police officer.

“Immediately upon the individual seeing the officer he literally dove onto the ground and was taken into custody and as he was taken into custody he yelled out ‘Allahu Akhbar,'” Dyer said. The term means “God is great” in Arabic.

“He does not like white people,” Dyer said, citing the suspect’s statements after being arrested and his Facebook postings. The chief said Muhammad, who is African American, used the nickname Black Jesus.

All four of the men killed on Tuesday were white, as was the security guard and the other man Mohammad shot at but missed.

Dyer said it was too early to rule out terrorism and that his department had contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate, but portrayed the incident as “a random act of violence.”

“These individuals who were chosen today did not do anything to deserve what they got,” he said. “These were unprovoked attacks by an individual who was intent on carrying out homicides today, and he did that.”

Dyer said Muhammad had been identified quickly as the prime suspect in the Motel 6 shooting on April 13 and that police had been urgently seeking him across the Fresno area since then.

Fresno is an agricultural hub in California’s central valley, about 170 miles southeast of San Francisco.

Muhammad has a criminal history that includes weapons and drug charges and had spent time in state prison, Dyer said.

County government buildings were placed on lockdown during the shooting spree and residents were urged to shelter in place.

Local television images showed what appeared to be a body covered in a yellow tarp in a street near where police tape marked off several crime scenes.
Three people die in a shooting spree in downtown Fresno, California. The suspected gunman, who was already wanted for another murder four days earlier, and who expressed hatred of whites and the government, is arrested.