Man who killed 1 Fargo officer, hurt 2, was interviewed about guns in 2021 after tip, FBI says

The heavily armed man who killed one Fargo police officer and wounded two as they were investigating a traffic stop had been interviewed about his guns in 2021 after the FBI received a tip, authorities said Thursday.

In a statement in response to questions from The Associated Press, the FBI and Fargo Police Department said the FBI received an anonymous tip about Mohamad Barakat in July 2021, in which the tipster expressed concern about Barakat's mental state, saying he had access to a “significant number of firearms” and had used threatening language.

The FBI forwarded the information to the Fargo Police Department. The statement says detectives made three visits to Barakat's apartment over the next two weeks. They reached him on the third visit and observed several firearms in the apartment, but none were illegal, the statement said.

In an interview, Barakat “denied any ill-intentions,” the statement said. "As there was no evidence of any ongoing illegal activities or indications of an imminent threat, it was determined that no further action could be taken.”

Barakat killed Officer Jake Wallin, 23, and wounded Officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes during their response to a routine traffic crash on July 14. Another officer shot and killed Barakat.