By Canadian Press

Fargo police officer’s funeral scheduled; 2 other officers remain hospitalized after shooting

Jul 18, 2023 | 2:48 PM

Funeral services have been scheduled for the Fargo, North Dakota, police officer killed in a shooting that also left two other officers injured.

The funeral service for Jake Wallin, 23, is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Pequot Lakes High School in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, according to an obituary. A private service will follow graveside at a cemetery in Nisswa, Minnesota.

Fargo police say Mohamad Barakat, a 37-year-old Fargo resident, fatally shot Wallin while police and firefighters were responding to a traffic accident Friday on a busy street in south Fargo. Barakat also is accused of shooting and injuring officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes before officer Zach Robinson shot and killed Barakat, according to police. A 25-year-old Fargo woman also was shot, but authorities have not said who shot her.

Wallin served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq from November 2020 to July 2021. He and Hawes were sworn in less than three months ago, and were still in training when they responded on Friday to the scene.

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the city would like to arrange a memorial service in Fargo, potentially next week.

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The mayor on Tuesday visited the two officers, who were critically injured. Hawes is “doing well” and improving and will have surgery Wednesday for his arm.

Dotas, who is in a lung machine and can’t speak, was set to have surgery Tuesday on his lung “but he should do better after that,” the mayor said in an interview. Dotas “always gives me thumbs up,” Mahoney said. The two officers were in good spirits, he said.

The woman who also was injured is in good condition, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said Saturday that a motive for the shooting is unknown. The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI are investigating the attack.

An FBI spokeswoman declined to provide further information on Tuesday, citing the ongoing investigation.

Robinson was placed on paid administrative leave while state authorities complete an investigation into his use of force, per Fargo police procedure. The mayor anticipates a report evaluating Robinson’s actions might come sometime in the next 10 days.

Barakat “was not well known to the community,” the mayor said.

Governors of Minnesota and North Dakota have directed U.S. and state flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Wallin through sunset on Saturday, and encouraged residents and businesses to do the same.

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This story has been corrected to note that authorities have not said who shot the 25-year-old woman.

Jack Dura, The Associated Press