Police say that Alton Alexander Nolen, 30, killed one co-worker and wounded another in a knife attack last week at a Vaughan Foods plant in Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City.
Nolen could potentially face the death penalty for the attacks, Greg Mashburn, the district attorney for the area that includes Cleveland County, Okla., said Tuesday morning.
“I have a murder charge that we will vigorously prosecute,” Mashburn said during a news conference announcing the charges. “It is highly likely that I will seek the death penalty.”
The episode began when Nolen and a co-worker named Traci Johnson had an argument about race, Mashburn said.
Nolen, who is black, “was basically saying he didn’t like white people,” Mashburn said. Johnson complained to the company’s human resources department, and the department suspended Nolen on Thursday. At that point, Nolen went home, got a large kitchen knife and returned “to get revenge on certain people he felt responsible,” Mashburn said.
He attacked Colleen Hufford, 54, from behind, killing her and severing her head, Mashburn said.
Nolen used Arabic terms during his attack, Mashburn said. He had tried to convert several co-workers to Islam, according to Moore police. Federal law enforcement officials told The Washington Post that Nolen was a recent convert who had a “provocative” Facebook page with a photo of Osama bin Laden.
“Obviously, there was some sort of infatuation with beheadings,” Mashburn said. “The manner in which it was carried out seemed to be related to his interest in killing someone in that way.”
Still, it appeared to be “an isolated incident” triggered by the suspension earlier in the day, Mashburn said.
“The altercation that occurred earlier in the day had more to do with race than it was with him trying to convert anyone,” Mashburn said. He later added that there were apparently three people of different races that Nolen believed had oppressed him.
Federal officials have said they are viewing this as a case of workplace violence rather than terrorism. But the nature of this attack, occurring in the wake of the high-profile beheading of two American journalists in Syria, has caused some to argue that it must be terrorism. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), a potential presidential candidate, said the incident is “an act of violence that is associated with terrorism.” (We’ve written more about the debate over what to call this particular incident here.)
Still, officials have not said they have found any link to terrorism. The FBI continues to investigate Nolen’s background, and they are looking for any possible links to terrorism.
Nolen has been able to give details to authorities and has been cooperating, officials say.
After killing Hufford, he attacked Johnson, the co-worker who had complained about him that day. He cut her neck and face and was only stopped when Mark Vaughan, the company’s chief operating officer and a reserve sheriff’s deputy, confronted Nolen. Vaughan shot Nolen once in the arm, which authorities said was what halted the attacks.
Mashburn said he believed Nolen would have also tried to behead Johnson if he was not stopped. Johnson survived the attack and, like Nolen, was taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Nolen’s mother and sister apologized to the victims in a video message posted on Facebook.
“I want to apologize to both families because this is not Alton,” Joyce Nolen, his mother, said in the video.
Adam Goldman contributed to this report.