Marine Charged With Firing Shots

A 22-year-old Marine reservist has been charged with firing shots at military buildings in the Washington, D.C., area last fall. Federal officials reveal in court papers that he videotaped himself shouting “Allah Akbar” after shooting at the U.S. Marine Corps museum, The Washington Post reported.

Yonathan Melaku was arrested last week at the Arlington National Cemetery. He was carrying a backpack with bags of ammonium nitrate, a material that can be used to make a bomb, and a note book with Osama bin Laden, the Post reported.

Court papers allege that between Oct. 16 and Nov. 2 Melaku fired shots at five military sites including into the windows of the National Museum of the Marine Corps and the Pentagon. Melaku joined the reserves in 2007 and has not been deployed overseas. He was found at Fort Myer in the early morning hours last week and when approached by base police fled, dropping his backpack. He was later picked up in the Arlington National Cemetery, the Post reported.

A search of his home turned up a video that showed him driving by the Marine Corps Museum and firing repeatedly out of the passenger window. "Alright next time this video turns on, I will be shooting," Melaku said on the video, according to the Post. "That's what they get. That's my target. That’s the military building. It's going to be attacked."
The search also found a list of materials that “are consistent with the requirements for a time power unit and firing mechanism of an Improvised Explosive Device,” the complaint states, according to the Post.