FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota law enforcement officials released body cam video from the officer who shot and killed a gunman responsible for the death of a police officer and the wounding of three people last month.
The 3-minute 7-second video shows Fargo police officer Zach Robinson reacting to a barrage of gunshots from Mohamad Barakat's .223-caliber rifle, which struck three officers and a bystander on the side of a busy road in mid-July.
Fargo police officer and Minnesota native Jake Wallin died as a result of the gunshots. Officers Tyler Hawes and Andrew Dotas were critically injured, and the bystander, Karlee Koswick, was also shot and severely injured.
At that point, Officer Robinson was on his own until backup arrived.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said if you watch the video, it is one minute and 46 seconds between the first hail of gunshots fired by Barakat to Officer Robinson killing the gunman with five final shots.
"This is not television. So anybody you ever talked to in a firefight of this kind will tell you a minute and 46 seconds is a lifetime," said Wrigley at Thursday morning's press conference at Fargo City Hall.
Watch the body camera video below. WARNING: The video contains graphic content and may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
At the start of the barrage of gunfire, his bodycam video shows Officer Robinson yelling into his radio "Shots fired! Central we got shots fired! (Another blast of gunfire) Central, we got a man with an AK-47 shooting at us! (More gunfire) Central, shots fired! Shots fired! We got three officers down... three officers down."
"Send everybody!" Robinson urges.
The video shows Officer Robinson approaching Barakat as he lay behind his car, repeatedly yelling at the gunman to "stop moving!", "put your hands up!" and "Drop the gun!"
At one point, it appears Robinson fires about three rounds at Barakat before having to reload his weapon. Officer Robinson is seen constantly moving around the car and shouting at Barakat to comply. At another point, it appears Robinson shoots several rounds at Barakat. Officer Robinson moves to the back of the car and fires five more rounds at Barakat, which appear to have killed him.
Seconds later, backup arrives at the scene.
Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski called Robinson's actions incredibly courageous and said what his officer did that day helped save the life of two fellow cops and a citizen.
"Look at how many times Officer Robinson... even in that situation... knowing that he is the only one standing there at the moment... other people are in need of very dire medical attention... he provides opportunities for Mr. Barakat to surrender... to drop his gun... to show his hands," said Chief Zibolski.
Following the shooting investigators recovered several guns, 1,800 rounds of ammunition, a homemade grenade and explosives from Barakat's car.
Officials earlier said Barakat was a Syrian national and came to the U.S. on an asylum request in 2012. He became a U.S. citizen in 2019.
Officers Dotas and Hawes were able to leave the hospital recently but are still recovering from gunshot wounds. Koswick also left the hospital and is recovering.
Wrigley said the shooting is still under investigation and other body cam videos from officers will be released in the future.