McFeely: One of worst days in Fargo’s history was going to be much, much worse

FARGO — It’s the picture that sends shivers down your spine. Three guns that appear to be assault-style weapons. Four handguns. A homemade grenade. And some 1,800 rounds of ammunition.

There was going to be a mass shooting in Fargo.

It was likely going to be downtown, at the street fair. Where there were thousands of people gathered in tight quarters.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley didn’t say that directly Wednesday, but he hinted strongly that is where Mohamad Barakat was headed before a chain of events stopped him.

Some of the events appear to be happenstance.

Some were most definitely heroic.

One police officer is dead.

Two more are gravely injured.

An innocent civilian suffered serious injuries

after being shot, purposely, by Barakat last week in the tragedy that’s shocked Fargo.

It’ll go down as one of the worst days in the city’s history.

It was going to be incalculably worse.

That it wasn’t is due to the heroism of Fargo Police Officer Zach Robinson, who engaged in a two-minute gunfight with Barakat — an eternity — before killing the shooter. Robinson is a bona fide hero, a word thrown out far too often.

The AG, Police Chief Dave Zibolski and Mayor Tim Mahoney got this right: Robinson’s actions appear to have prevented more carnage in our community.

Barakat was intent on killing people. Lots of people. Men, women and children. Our families. Our friends. Our neighbors.

The rumor bouncing around town since last Friday’s tragedy was that Barakat was headed downtown to the street fair before he was distracted and sidetracked by a minor car accident on 25th Street South that attracted police officers and other first responders.

It seemed far-fetched. It apparently was not.

Wrigley said video shows Barakat appearing to “case” the situation, driving around a parking lot. He shot Fargo police officers Jake Wallin, Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes at close range from his vehicle. He took aim and shot bystander Karlee Koswick as she attempted to run away. Wallin died. Dotas, Hawes and Koswick are hospitalized.

“By the grace of God” — a phrase used more than once Wednesday — Robinson was standing away from his fellow officers. He was able, eventually, through heroic action, to shoot and kill Barakat.

Thank God.

Thank God.

Wrigley said he and other law enforcement officials will discuss Friday why they believe Barakat was headed downtown, “about a 4 or 5 minute drive” from where the event on 25th Street occurred. The Downtown Fargo Street Fair was in full swing at the time, with streets blocked off for vendors and food trucks and people looking for summer fun.

There are so many questions. There are so many things that still need to be answered and explained. Who is Barakat? What was his motive? Why did he stop? How can a man with apparently no criminal record be responsible for such mayhem? Why does he have no social media footprint, not even a photograph somewhere online, in the year 2023? What do the American flags on the ammunition magazines mean?

The list is endless. Maybe some will be answered later this week.

For now, we know that — as bad as the killing of Wallin and the injuries to three others are — Fargo was headed to something much, much worse.

Barakat had 1,800 rounds of high-powered ammunition and a grenade. Headed to downtown, which was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people.

Carnage. Or something beyond.

How many could it have been?

By the grace of God, indeed.

Mike McFeely is a columnist for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. He began working for The Forum in the 1980s while he was a student studying journalism at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He’s been with The Forum full time since 1990, minus a six-year hiatus when he hosted a local radio talk-show.