Alton Nolen, aka Jah-Keem Yisrael.
Take a gander at Alton Nolen’s Facebook page before somebody takes it down.
He had been on parole for convictions for drugs, assault and battery on a police officer and attempted escape. He was given an early release from probation less than a month ago. His probation was originally scheduled to end in 2017.
At some point, he converted to Islam. It appears, from his Facebook page, that his interest had turned — in an approving way — to the violence and degradation being enacted on other people by ISIS and the various other terrorist groups making the news lately.
I’m guessing, based on his photos, that he was welcomed in the local Islamic community. Alongside photos of beheadings and gun-toting terrorists, he also posted notices of trips with his fellow Muslims to a local amusement park.
He was employed by Vaughn Foods. Knowing what I know of Oklahoma law, I would guess that this gainful employment played a part in his being given early release from probation. Shortly before he began his murderous rampage, Mr Nolen was fired from this job. Employees told the press that he and been trying to convert them to Islam in what sounds like an aggressive and harassing manner. I do not know if this is why he was fired.
He drove to the building where he began his killling, slamming into another car in the parking lot. He attacked, murdered and beheaded 54-year-old Colleen Hufford. He did not know Ms Hufford. He then attacked another co-worker, Traci Johnson.
Mark Vaughn, the company’s chief operating officer, used a rifle that he kept in his office to shoot Mr Nolen. Mr Nolen is in the hospital, recovering from his wounds.
I only have a few comments to make about this attack.
One: This is Oklahoma. We’re heavily armed here. Most Okies have guns and a lot of them pack. What that means is that, instead of screeching and yelling or wandering around helplessly, as bystanders have done in other parts of the world, this particular attack was stopped before more people died.
Two: This is Oklahoma. Mr Nolen is going to have to explain himself to an Oklahoma jury.
Three: This business of cherry-picking verses from holy books to justify horrible behavior can happen to any philosophy or faith. But it is happening 24/7 and all around the world to Islam. It is happening within this one faith far too consistently and in too many cultures and situations for it to simply be a random thing, or for the explanation to come from external forces.
I look to the religious leaders of Islam for both the cause and the resolution of this problem. Holy men teach holiness, not murder of innocents.
According to Breitbart, Mr Nolen is linked, at least indirectly, to Suhaib Webb, the former leader of the mosque that the Boston bombers attended. Mr Webb is said to have ties to al-Qaeda. This underscores my point that Islamic religious leaders are responsible for a great deal of this behavior.
Four: I hope that the Oklahoma Muslim community will offer condolences to the families of these two women. I think it would help the situation. Evidently one Muslim civic leader, went the other way. This kind of thing makes it even more important for responsible Muslim leaders to demonstrate that they do not share this thinking, but grieve for the loss of innocent life with the rest of Oklahoma.
Five: The FBI is investigating Mr Nolen’s link to any possible terrorist connections. I have respect for the work they do when they are focused and on point. I think they’ll sift through this and get to the truth.
Six: Thank you Mark Vaughn for stopping this tragedy before it got worse.
Seven: Our prayers and thoughts should be for Colleen Hufford and Traci Johnson, both of them unarmed, innocent women who were simply at work, doing their jobs.
Eight: I wrote a post earlier, entitled Britain, You’ve Got a Problem. Does this mean America also has the same problem?
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