Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Teen shooter in Salt Lake was Bosnian Muslim

When I first saw the name in the AP coverage of the gunman at a Salt Lake City shopping mall, which is Sulejman Talovic, I certainly had to wonder about the first name. Now, thanks to the Salt Lake Tribune I was shocked to find out, that it looks like the killer was:
The 18-year-old man who shot and killed at least five people Monday night at Trolley Square has been identified as Sulejmen Talovic, a Bosnian refugee who lived in Salt Lake City.

Little additional information was released about Talovic.

The Bosnian community, which numbers about 3,000 in Utah, planned a news conference later this afternoon.

Talovic parked his car in the west parking lot and walked into the mall, encountering two people, whom he shot. Then he walked further into the mall and shot a woman, said Police Chief Chris Burbank.

He then walked to a gift shop and shot five people. He shot several other people before he was gunned down by an off-duty Ogden police officer assisted by four Salt Lake City police officers, Burbank said.

He had a backpack that carried numerous rounds of ammunition as well as a .38-caliber handgun, said the chief.

Police have no motive in the killing.
Perhaps they might want to check into his religious educational background?

Update: The Islamic Threat has more.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

SJS

Anonymous said...

Planning for Beslan-style mayhem in America:

Rassa stated that floor plans for half a dozen schools in Virginia, Texas and New Jersey have been recovered from terrorist hands in Iraq.

Excerpt from http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=724891

revereridesagain said...

I wondered, when I heard the first reports this morning. But it seemed unlikely -- I mean, UTAH? Too bad the police had to take him down before we got a few useful "Allahu Akbars" to cement the deal.

Anonymous said...

I tried to get more information about this shooting but each time I turned on Fox or CNN, it was all about that Nicole what's her name so I had to keep turning the news off.

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting for a transciption of the news conference organized by the Bosnian group in Utah and information on what the police finds in searching the guy's house. All I read so far are denials from his relatives, the usual platitude about how he's a good boy and he couldn't possibly have done it.

Avi Green said...

Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that FOX will lose its head and start giving more coverage to Anna Nicole when something like this is more serious. I figure they should be told to get serious already.

revereridesagain said...

This is a potentially explosive situation, and the longer we go with no definitive answer from the authorities the more suspicious I get. Is the family Muslim or not? If so, it is highly likely that this was SJS (and it may not have been so sudden when we learn more about the kid's background). If they were not, I would have expected the MSM to be trumpeting it loud and clear by now.

revereridesagain said...

I've been checking the local Utah coverage and not one mention of the word "Muslim". Plenty of theorizing about "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome" from living in a war zone. The usual "he was a nice boy, quiet" to the point of being described as hermit-like. Apparently attended a number of schools in the area but may not have finished high school. The SLC cops knocked at the door, no one home, and they left. WTF? Have they searched the house or not?

Epaminondas said...

WHen it happened I turned to mrs epa and said ..'let's pray this is not a muslim for all our sakes', we can only all hope and pray that this is a deranged loon and NOT ... another case of SJS, a la Seattle, etc

Anonymous said...

Consider again, the recent article by Pam over at AtlasShrugs also featured at JW :
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/02/preparing_for_w.html
"Public information officers or spokesman for law enforcement agencies are purposely downplaying and in some cases lying outright to the public about arrests of Muslims in the US," so said one Federal law enforcement official.

BTW, at one of the SLC papers comments thread, a tangential discussion brought up the issue of why Bosnians, Somalians, Croatians etc are brought over to the US as immigrants . . .as they say, FOLLOW THE MONEY:

U.S. Resettlement Program-An Overview

Public/Private roles.

Public: Three federal agencies play key roles in the U.S. resettlement program.

•The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has the statutoryauthority to determine which applicants meet the requirements for refugee status and are admissible to the United States under U.S. law. Arriving refugees are afforded the same rights as legal residents in the U.S. They are entitled to apply for permanent resident alien status after twelve months in the U.S., and after five years may seek to become naturalized citizens. The integration potential of individuals or ethnic groups is not a consideration in being accepted as a refugee,

•The Department of State (DOS) coordinates resettlement policy and manages overseas processing, cultural orientation, transportation to the U.S., and provides funds to private non-profit, non-government organizations (NGO's) for initial reception and placement activities for newly arrived refugees. The U.S. resettlement program is designed to function as a public-private partnership with NGO's participating in every step of the process. The DOS manages the Reception and Placement (R&P) program for arriving refugees through funding agreements with ten such agencies. The R&P program is intended to welcome arriving refugees, and provide the immediate essential services they need during their first 30 days in the U.S., and provides a link to longer-term services funded by the Department of Health and Human Services.

•The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has responsibility for the domestic program of refugee resettlement services which includes
cash and medical assistance to arriving refugees and a broad range of social services for refugees in the U.S. under five years. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at HHS provides funding for refugee services programs through state governments as well as through NGOs.

Private: The U.S. resettlement program is designed to function as a public-private partnership, with non-governmental organizations (NGO's) playing a key role. NGO's participate in every step of the process, working in partnership with the Federal and State agencies as well as with each other to provide effective and coordinated services to refugees. Some of the NGO's seek church groups and volunteers from local communities to provide a variety of services, and to contribute clothing and household furnishings to meet the needs of arriving refugees. In addition, they often become mentors and friends of refugees, providing orientation to community services, and providing supportive services such as tutoring children after school, and teaching families how to shop, among other things. Volunteers come from the local community and may be citizens or refugees and immigrants who arrived earlier.

Other private non-profit agencies in the partnership are refugee organizations, known as Mutual Assistance Associations (MAAs), many of which have national networks in place. These organizations are an important source of emotional support to refugees as well as services, and they provide a place for refugees to connect with their ethnic culture through holiday and religious celebrations, and a way to meet their countrymen who now live in the U.S.


http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/...overviewrp.htm

revereridesagain said...

The aunt has already confirmed that the family is Muslim. So far the only words Talovic spoke, according to witnesses, were "Die, motherfucker" as he shot a victim. The police have had no comment on whether anything was found in the car or in the house (assuming they finally got in). Is it significant that there have been no explicit denials of any evidence that the attack was Islam-inspired? I am trying to track down the source of a headline about the mayor seeking to "reassure the Muslim community" but that may refer to something else.