Denver terrorist Joshua Cummings told authorities he did not kill for ISIS, but simply to please Allah.Denver terrorist Joshua Cummings told authorities he murdered a security guard on January 30, 2017, to please Allah.
Cummings asked the judge for a copy of a Koran during his first court appearance.
Cummings shot Scott Von Lanken, a 56-year-old RTD security guard, in the back of the head.
He later admitted he did it for the pleasure of Allah.
CBS Local reported:
The man charged in the murder of a Regional Transportation District security guard says his actions that night were to please Allah.
Joshua Cummings, 37, is charged with the Jan. 30 murder of RTD security guard Scott Von Lanken. What happened was a cold blooded murder ‐ a shot to the head ‐ but the reason behind it is still unclear. From his jail cell, by phone, Cummings told CBS4 three days after his arrest he pledged his allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State.
"I give my bay'ah (pledge) to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and I am committed to being a soldier for the Islamic State," he told CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger.
Cummings would not say if he committed the murder.
"On the night in question, what I did do, I didn't do that for the Islamic State. I did that purely and solely for the pleasure of Allah," Cummings said.
He would not explain why his actions that night would have been for God.
Cummings was found a short time after the killing nearby with a gun the same caliber as the shells found at the murder scene. He was carrying Islamic literature. He says whatever he did that night was not in the name of ISIS.