Political News & Views: "Workplace Violence" Debunked: Oklahoma Jihadist Who Beheaded Colleen Hufford Was Not Fired, the Islamic Ritual Slaughter was “Premeditated”

10/2/2014

Jah’Keem Yisrael, Islamic State jihadist, was not fired. He was suspended. He was screaming Islamic verses as he beheaded Colleen Hufford.

It was premeditated Islamic ritual slaughter — Jah’Keem went home, grabbed “a large bladed knife” and “returned to get revenge” — sharia-style. In the plant’s administrative office, police say, Nolen attacked 54-year-old Colleen Hufford from behind and severed her head from her body.

The criminal complaint released today states that Nolen drove to his home “for the sole reason to retrieve a large bladed knife.” He then went back to work “with the large knife in his shoe, in order to assault an employee of the business with the knife.”

He walked into the plant’s administrative office and came across 54-year-old Colleen Hufford, whom he attacked from behind, severing her head. He then turned his attention to Tracy Johnson, 43, whom he cut across the left side of the face and also tried to behead. She survived.

“What we know about Alton Nolen, who has been charged with murder in the Oklahoma beheading case”, Washington Post, September 30, 2014

Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn announces that first-degree murder and assault charges have been filed against Alton Nolen during a Sept. 30 news conference in Norman, Okla. (Steve Sisney/The Oklahoman via Associated Press)

Alton Nolen was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and assault in the decapitation of a former co-worker at a processing plant in Oklahoma. He could face the death penalty, a county prosecutor said.

The gruesome nature of the attack coupled with the religious adherence of the suspect has attracted significant attention to the case, from well beyond the borders of Moore, a community previously known for a devastating EF5 tornado that killed more than two dozen people and destroyed 1,000 homes.

The beheading has also sparked endless speculation — not to mention considerable debate over what to call it.

Here’s what we know about Nolen so far.

Nolen was suspended just before the attack

Police originally said that Nolen, 30, entered a Vaughan Foods processing plant on Thursday afternoon shortly after being “terminated.” But in an affidavit released Tuesday, police said Nolen had actually been suspended just before the incident.

He then went home, the affidavit said, and grabbed “a large bladed knife.” At that point, according to Cleveland County Prosecutor Greg Mashburn, Nolen “returned to get revenge.” In the plant’s administrative office, police say, Nolen attacked 54-year-old Colleen Hufford from behind and severed her head from her body.

Nolen then attacked 43-year-old Traci Johnson, another employee, before he was stopped by the company’s chief operating officer, Mark Vaughan. Vaughan, a reserve deputy with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, shot Nolen with a rifle, stopping the attack. Both Nolen and Johnson were hospitalized.

Johnson was released from the hospital Saturday, after receiving treatment for multiple stab wounds. Nolen remains in stable condition.

The police affidavit said Nolen was suspended after Johnson initiated a complaint. According to Mashburn, the prosecutor, Johnson complained following an argument “about [Nolen] not liking white people.”