At 5:00 AM, Al-Shabaab militants accessed Garissa University and conducted a religious profiling exercise for nearly an hour before calling in the main attackers into the compound.
After separating Muslim students from Christian students, the attackers began the killings.
A report by the Kenya Intelligence Service states that Senior Al-Shabaab leader in Lower Juba, Abdurahman Mohamed, also known as Gamadere or Dulyadeen, planned and ordered the Garissa terror attack.
According to the report, Mohamed was aided by two local youths who conducted surveillance on the university.
The objective of the religious profiling and killings was to inspire religious hatred and make Christians feel threatened and persecuted, potentially prompting reprisals.