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Alton Nolen, Oklahoma beheading suspect, appeared to celebrate 9/11 Twin Towers terror attack in Facebook post

Alton Nolen, a Muslim convert, allegedly went on rampage after losing job

Lizzie Dearden
Sunday 28 September 2014 03:50 EDT
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A truck sits near the entrance to Vaughn Food in Moore, Okla., Friday, Sept. 26, 2014,
A truck sits near the entrance to Vaughn Food in Moore, Okla., Friday, Sept. 26, 2014, (AP)

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A man has beheaded a woman with a knife and stabbed another before being shot at a food processing factory in the US.

Alton Nolen, 30, was hospitalised after the incident on Thursday, when he allegedly went on the rampage after being fired from Vaughan Foods in Oklahoma City.

Colleen Hufford, 54, was decapitated and another staff member, 43-year-old Traci Johnson was stabbed a number of times before the attack was stopped.

After being sacked in a building housing the company's human resources office, Nolen immediately drove to the main entrance and started the attack, police said.

Mark Vaughan, the company’s chief operating officer and a reserve police officer has since been hailed a “hero” for shooting Nolen, who is in hospital along with his victim Ms Johnson.

The FBI has been called in to investigate the incident after colleagues told police Nolen had recently attempted to convert them to Islam.

His Facebook page, under the name Jah'Keem Yisrael, suggests that he converted to the religion in 2013 and has since posted a stream of statuses with quotes from the Koran under the tag “info from a Muslim”.

In one post earlier this year, he appeared to celebrate the 9/11 terrorist attack by posting a picture of the Twin Towers burning.

“The Statue of Liberty is going into flames,” he wrote. “She and anybody who's with her.”

He also labelled America and Israel “wicked” and called on Muslims to “wake up”.

His most recent post, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, seemed to claim the apocalypse was coming, saying “this is the last days”.

Police are believed to be looking at his material on Facebook as part of their investigation.

In a statement, the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge, James Finch, said the motive for the attack has not been determined but that there is no reason to believe there is a threat to anyone else.

An official told the Associated Press that while there was indication that Nolen was a Muslim convert and was trying to convert others to Islam, there was no connection to terrorism and no evidence of concerning travel.

Sergeant Jeremy Lewis, of Moore Police, said officers were waiting for him to regain consciousness on Friday before making an arrest.

He said the force had asked the FBI to look into the man's background because of the nature of the attack, which follows a series of beheadings Islamic State (Isis) militants in Syria.

Praising Mr Vaughan, he added: “This was not going to stop if he didn't stop it. It could have gotten a lot worse.”

According to state records, Nolen has previously served time in prison and is on probation for assault and battery on a police officer.

He was also convicted of cocaine possession with intent to distribute in 2011.

Additional reporting by AP

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