A man who murdered a Lyft driver in Texas before barging into a police department headquarters and opening fire may have drawn inspiration from terrorists outside the country, authorities said Monday.
Imran Ali Rasheed was investigated by the FBI from 2010 to 2013 for potential terror ties.
That probe was closed when investigators concluded Rasheed didn’t pose a threat.
But the same man killed his Lyft driver, Isabella Lewis, in Garland on Sunday before entering the Plano Police Department police station and opening fire.
Police officers fatally shot Rasheed.
A preliminary investigation had led investigators to believe Rasheed, 33, “may have been inspired by a foreign terrorist organization,” Matthew DeSarno, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Dallas, told reporters in a briefing.
“We’ve not found indication at this point in the investigation that Rasheed was either directed by or in contact with foreign terrorist organization actors. We believe, at this point, that he was inspired by rhetoric and/or propaganda by foreign terrorist organizations,” he added later.
That early finding stemmed primarily from a note the man left behind.
DeSarno also defended the closing of the previous investigation, saying it had been reviewed in light of what happened.
“I’m comfortable that the investigation was done thoroughly and properly, and in 2013, after the exhaustion of all investigative steps, that investigation was closed when the case team determined that Rasheed at that time did not pose a threat,” he said.
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