Muhammad pleads guilty in Ark. soldier killing

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A man who confessed to shooting two soldiers outside a military recruiting station in Arkansas has pleaded guilty.

Abdulhakim Muhammad pleaded guilty to capital murder in the middle of his trial today.

Muhammad previously tried to plead guilty in court, but Arkansas law doesn’t allow that in death penalty cases. It was not immediately clear whether prosecutors had agreed to take the death penalty off the table in return for Muhammad’s plea.

Muhammad’s sentence hasn’t yet been announced.

Prosecutors originally sought the death penalty for Muhammad in the killing of Army Pvt. William Andrew Long. He also was charged with attempted capital murder for wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula in 2009.

Muhammad confessed to the shooting he says it’s justified because of U.S. military action in the Middle East.