Jake Ryan Wallin of St. Michael, Minnesota, United States has died. He was 23.
Born in St. Michael to Jeff Wallin and Amy Shuler Wallin, Jake attended St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael, Alexandria Technical and Community College in Alexandria, Minnesota. He also went to the American Military University in Charles Town, West Virginia, USA.
Jake served in the Minnesota National Guard. After his deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq from November 2020 to July 2021, he moved to Fargo, North Dakota, USA.
On April 19, 2023, Jake became a Fargo Police Department officer. He was engaged to Winter Malone of Fargo.
Mohamad Barakat of Fargo has also died. He was 37.
Originally from Syria, Barakat arrived in the U.S. in 2012 and was granted political asylum. In 2019, he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
On July 14, 2023, Barakat practiced his shooting skills at the Red River Regional Marksmanship Center, a gun range in West Fargo, Cass County. Later that day, while he was in his sedan, he saw Jake and Jake’s fellow Fargo Police Department officers Andrew Dotas, 28, and Tyler Haws, 22, responding to a car crash at 25th Street and 9th Avenue South in Fargo.
From the sedan, Barakat opened fire on the police officers using a .223 caliber long rifle, seriously injuring Dotas and Haws and fatally shooting Jake. Also injured was bystander Karlee Koswick, 25, a Fargo resident originally from of Cohasset, Massachusetts, USA.
For 16 times, Jake’s training officer Zachary Robinson ordered Barakat to drop the gun but Barakat refused. After a confrontation that lasted around 2 minutes, Robinson fatally shot Barakat.
The FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are investigating the attack on police. Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the crime.
