Mohamad Barakat biography: 13 things about Fargo, North Dakota man

Mohamad Barakat was a Syrian-American man from Fargo, Cass County, North Dakota, United States. He has family in the U.S. outside Fargo.

In at least 2018, Barakat started studying mass shooting. Among his Google searches were “mass shooting events”, “area events”, “kill fast” and “how to kill”.

Barakat had little social media presence. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He was originally from Syria.
2. He kept a Quran and legally purchased firearms in his apartment at Bluemont Village Apartments on 23rd Avenue South in Fargo.
3. He worked on and off for odd jobs including an employment at Fleet Farm, a store in Fargo that sells ammunition, handguns, shotguns and rifles, among other items.
4. He was 14 years older than Fargo Police Department officer Jake Wallin.
5. In 2012, he arrived in the U.S. and was granted political asylum.
6. From 2015 to 2020, he lived in an apartment on 9th Avenue Circle South in Fargo.
7. In November 2018, he had a speeding ticket in Fargo.
8. In 2019, he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
9. In 2020, he moved to Bluemont Village Apartments and enrolled in the emergency medical services program at the North Dakota State College of Science in Fargo. He only finished one semester.
10. In July 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received an anonymous tip about him, claiming that he had used threatening language and he had access to a significant number of firearms. When Fargo Police Department detectives visited him, he denied any ill intentions. No further action was taken because there was no evidence of ongoing illegal activities or indications of an immediate threat, according to the department and the FBI.
11. On September 6, 2022, he had a cooking fire that brought firefighters to his apartment at Bluemont Village Apartments. The firefighters notified the Fargo Police Department after seeing guns, ammunition and propane tanks in the apartment. When interviewed by police officers, he admitted to owning approximately 10 guns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition.
12. At 10:30 p.m. on July 13, 2023, he read the KVVR article titled “Thousands enjoy first day of Downtown Fargo Street Fair”, which was published on July 12, 2023.
13. On July 14, 2023, he practiced his shooting skills at the Red River Regional Marksmanship Center, a gun range in West Fargo, Cass County. Later that day, he used a .223-caliber rifle to wound Fargo resident Karlee Koswick, then 25, seriously injure Fargo Police Department officers Tyler Haws, then 22, and Andrew Dotas, then 28, and fatally shoot Wallin. Shortly after, he was fatally shot by Fargo Police Department officer Zachary Robinson. He was 37. A homemade grenade, a can of gasoline, 1,800 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition, explosives filled with large amounts of Tannerite, three long rifles and other firearms were found in his car.