During a taped interview with police, accused killer Kori Ali Muhammad admitted that he intentionally targeted white men during a killing spree in April 2017, The Fresno Bee reported.
Muhammad is on trial in Fresno, California, as he faces the death penalty for allegedly killing four men between April 13 and April 20. His lawyers have argued that he has schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, but he claims he killed the men because of the racism and mistreatment Black people face in America.
In tapes obtained by The Fresno Bee and ABC30, Muhammad told detectives Victor Miranda and Miguel Alvarez that he initially killed 25-year-old security guard Carl Williams III at a Motel 6 due to a dispute.
Muhammad was visiting a friend at the motel on April 13. He became enraged when Williams and the hotel manager began to question him about why he was there. The manager wanted Muhammad to pay a visitor's fee, and the two argued before he agreed to pay. But the manager claimed he felt threatened and told Muhammad to leave.
In surveillance footage from the motel office, Muhammad is then seen pulling out a gun and shooting Williams multiple times, killing him instantly. During the interview with police after he was captured, Muhammad said he shot Williams because he was angry about how he was treated.
“It starts taking its toll on you and you get fed up with the racism. You get tired of letting things slide,” he said.
After shooting Williams, Muhammad fled the scene and hid out, only realizing the police were looking for him after he surfed the internet using Starbucks' Wi-Fi.
After fleeing the shooting, he realized he was wanted for murder and decided to “kill as many white men” as possible.
"I didn't want to do nothing to law enforcement so I just found some white men to kill," he told the detectives.
He found a Pacific Gas & Electric truck and decided to kill one of the drivers who was white.
"When I walked up to the [PG&E] truck, I saw a Mexican driver and a white guy. I didn't want to target the driver because he was Mexican so I shot the white dude," Muhammad said.
Muhammad went on to kill 34-year-old Zackary Randalls, 37-year-old Mark Gassett and 58-year-old David Jackson.
He said he initially chose the PG&E truck because his father worked for the company for years and he was triggered.
During his trial, Muhammad said he is an avowed follower of the Nation of Islam, and prosecutors have tried to use this as an argument against his lawyer's claims of schizophrenia.
Muhammad's trial will continue next Tuesday.