Kori Muhammad convicted of murder for Fresno mass shooting

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kori Muhammad has been found guilty of four murders in a 2017 shooting spree in Downtown Fresno and one of them motivated by race.

Muhammad was found guilty of second-degree murder with the use of a firearm for the shooting and killing of motel employee Carl Williams.

Muhammad went on a shooting rampage five days later, gunning down Mark Gassett, Zack Randalls and David Jackson.

He was found guilty of first degree murder in the death of Jackson and the jury ruled that he was intentionally killed because of his race. Muhammad was also found guilty of second degree murder for the deaths of Randalls and Gassett.

Muhammad was arrested by Fresno Police officers shortly after the mass shooting, and during a confession said he targeted white men.

His conviction for the first degree murder of Jackson with the special circumstances of hate crime and multiple murders make this a possible death penalty case.

But the verdict came with some confusion.

After the jury's verdict was read, the judge asked each juror if that was their decision. The final of the 12 jurors said the verdicts read in court was not what they had discussed. After that, all of the jurors returned to the deliberations room.

They came back with three corrections, on three of the four attempted murder charges, but not the murder counts.

Muhammad's defense attorney argued that the 41-year-old should only face second-degree murder charges because he has mental health issues and was not premeditating the murders, he just snapped and went on a rampage.

He'll make that argument again in the sanity phase of the trial, which starts next week.