The Amarillo Police Department is purposely withholding the nationality and immigration status of the armed man who stormed a Walmart and took two employees hostage Tuesday.
“Lt. Bohannon may release that in follow up releases but he specifically did not release this at this time,” APD Sgt. Brent Barbee told The Daily Caller News Foundation, when asked about the immigration status and nationality of the suspect.
Police shot and killed Mohammad Moghaddam, 54, after he allegedly fired a gun in the Walmart and took two co-workers hostage around 11 a.m. central time in what police say was a workplace dispute over a promotion. The APD identified the suspect’s name, address and age late Tuesday afternoon, but did not reveal any further identifying information.
“There is no indication that this had anything to do with terrorism or the shooting that happened over the weekend in Orlando,” police said in a detailed release around 6 p.m. central time, attributing the situation to workplace violence.
Amarillo has recently taken in 1,000 refugees from the Middle East, giving the city of less than 200,000 the highest refugee ratio in the country, reports Watchdog.org. The refugees are coming from a “myriad” of countries, according to the Amarillo public health department, including Somalia, Iraq and Iran.
“[Lt. Bohannon] may be waiting until he knows for certain from first hand and reliable sourcing so that he will be unquestionably accurate,” Barbee added in an email to TheDCNF. “In the current climate, it is absolutely necessary. Gossip and social media do not often see when we include a disclaimer such as ‘PRELIMINARY information is that….'”
Barbee added that Bohannon declined to answer a question regarding further identifying information at a press conference Tuesday, saying “he would not release it at this time.”
Bohannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Texas is suing the federal government for resettling Syrian refugees in the state without consulting the state beforehand in accordance with the Refugee Act of 1980.
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