Fargo police officer recalls deadly July 14 ambush

FARGO (KVRR) – Fargo Police Officer Tyler Hawes vividly remembers July 14th. Hawes was one of four people shot by a gunman after responding to a routine traffic crash on 25th Street in south Fargo.

Hawes is speaking publicly about the shooting for the first time, in an interview conducted and produced by the city of Fargo.

“Nothing I did that day was heroic. Everything I did that day was my job,”

Police officer Jake Wallin was killed in the ambush. Hawes, Officer Andrew Dotas and a civilian, Karlee Koswick, were seriously injured.

“And as this happens, I’m hit, I start to turn, I fall, I look down at my right arm, and my right arm is broken. I don’t know how else I’ve been injured, but I know it’s bad because I can’t walk,” Hawes explained.

Hawes said unlike most police matters, there’s “no playbook” for how to deal with recovering from that day other than to “just deal with it” and count on family for support.

“That changes the conversation with family. It’s not just going into these scenes that I could get hurt, or I could die. Now it’s…this makes it more real.”

The gunman, 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat was shot and killed by Officer Zach Robinson.

Hawes says Wallin was able to fire a shot that distracted Barakat long enough for Robinson to shoot the gunman. He calls Wallin’s actions “heroic.”

Investigators found numerous guns, ammunition, a homemade grenade and explosives in Barakat’s vehicle. They believe Barakat may have had plans to use the weapons at an outdoor event, possibly the Fargo Street Fair.