A man wanted in the slaying of a motel security guard set out to kill as many white people as he could, gunning down three men on the streets of a Californian city before being captured.
Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, was motivated by hate and was not connected to extremism, even though he said "Allahu akbar" during his arrest, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.
"This is solely based on race, and it had nothing to do with terrorism in spite of the statement he made," Dyer said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Muhammad, who is black, fired 16 rounds in one minute at four places within a block, shooting men who appeared to be going about their day.
He walked up to a pick-up truck and shot a man sitting in the passenger seat. The driver of the truck, who is Latino, sped off to the police department for help, but his passenger, a 34-year-old white man, died.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Muhammad then shot at another person and missed. He aimed at a third, killing the 37-year-old on the footpath as he walked with a bag of groceries in a neighbourhood lined with tall trees, authorities say.
The final victim, 58, was gunned down in the parking lot of a charity building.
Dyer said Muhammad approached a vehicle in between shootings, but he spared the lives of two women who were in the car with a child. The women were Latina, he said.
"These individuals who were chosen today did not do anything to deserve what they got," he said earlier in the day.
"These were unprovoked attacks by an individual that was intent on carrying out homicides today. He did that."
Police had put out a news release hours before the shootings Tuesday, saying that Muhammad was armed and dangerous and wanted in the shooting death of a security guard at a Motel 6 last week.
The guard, 25-year-old Carl Williams, was white.
Muhammad told officers at his arrest that he was the guy they were looking for, Dyer said, and that he wanted to be known as someone who killed many white people and not just a security guard.
"I did it. I shot them," Dyer said Muhammad told officers.
Records show Muhammad was charged in 2005 with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.
He claimed insanity, and his lawyer requested a psychiatric examination for his client, saying Muhammad "appeared eccentric with some bizarre beliefs".
A psychiatrist who examined Muhammad believed he had psychosis, Muhammad's lawyer said in the court filing at the time.
