Gunman kills four at military site

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A gunman opened fire on two military centers more than 7 miles apart on Thursday, killing four Marines and wounding three other people in what authorities are investigating as a terrorist attack.

A police officer was among those injured in the brazen daylight shooting, in which a man identified by federal authorities as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, sprayed dozens of bullets at a military recruiting center, then drove several miles away to a Navy-Marine training facility and opened fire again before he was killed.

Authorities would not say how the gunman died. FBI agent Ed Reinhold said Abdulazeez had “numerous weapons” but would not give details.

“It is incomprehensible to see what happened and the way that individuals who proudly serve our country were treated,” said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. “Today was a nightmare for the city of Chattanooga.”

The killings coincided with the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a time when Islamic extremists have targeted rival sects in past years and militants have sought to strike symbolic blows against Western enemies. This year, supporters of the militant group Islamic State called via social media at the start of Ramadan for “lone wolf” attacks against perceived enemies of their global holy war.

But authorities emphasized that they had established no motive for the attacks.

“We are looking at every possible avenue, whether it was terrorism – whether it was domestic, international – or whether it was a simple criminal act,” Ed Reinhold, special agent in charge of the FBI office in Knoxville, Tennessee, told reporters.

Abdulazeez, believed to have been born in Kuwait, lived in the Chattanooga suburb of Hixson and had gone to high school in nearby Red Bank, where he was a member of the wrestling team, before earning an engineering degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

A high school friend described Abdulazeez as a sociable, smart and deeply religious student with a sharp sense of humor.

“He was very sociable. He had a really easy-to-get-along-with personality,” said Terry Jones, a 25-year-old engineer from Knoxville. “He was kind of the funny guy in … class.”

The attack began at a recruiting center on Old Lee Highway in Chattanooga where five branches of the military have adjoining offices in a strip mall, which includes a cellphone store and an Italian restaurant. There was no extra security, but there seldom is at such recruiting facilities, which are easily accessible to the public, U.S. defense officials said.

Sometime between 10:30 and 10:45 a.m. the gunman drove up in a gray Ford Mustang, according to a federal law enforcement official who asked not to be identified. He was armed with multiple weapons and opened fire with a long gun, unleashing a barrage of more than two dozen rounds, the official said.

No one was reported hit in the volley at the first site, officials said. Schools and businesses, including a nearby mall, immediately locked down as a security measure.

Police from several agencies responded to reports of the shots. The gunman fled by car and police gave chase to the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway, less than half an hour away.

There, the Ford convertible, with the top down, arrived and the gunman jumped out and “almost instantly” started firing, according to a federal source.

The four Marines were killed at the second center, federal officials said.

Another Marine recruiter was wounded in the leg and was treated and released. Another man who was injured was described by hospital officials as being in critical condition. The police officer was wounded in the ankle.

President Barack Obama led the nation in grieving over the latest incident of gun violence, which occurred on the same day that jurors in Colorado convicted James E. Holmes of murder in the July 2012 attack on a crowded movie theater that left 12 people dead and 70 others wounded. The president promised a thorough investigation.

“It is a heartbreaking circumstance for these individuals who have served our country with great valor to be killed in this fashion,” Obama said.

“We take all shootings very seriously. Obviously, when you have an attack on a U.S. military facility, then we have to make sure that we have all the information necessary to make an assessment in terms of how this attack took place, and what further precautions we can take in the future,” he said.

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian said the attacks were being investigated as an “act of domestic terrorism.” A federal source said the FBI had not established any foreign terrorism nexus in the shooting.

Attorney Gen. Loretta Lynch said she had directed the FBI to take the lead in a national security investigation of “this heinous attack on members of our military.”

She added, “In the days ahead, we intend to work with our partners in law enforcement and the intelligence community to ensure that the American people are protected and that justice is served.”

Counterterrorism authorities had warned of the possibility of terrorist attacks coinciding with Ramadan. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, warned before the start of the holy month that Islamic State was “likely preparing a surge of operations to try to achieve important campaign objectives” during Ramadan.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the attack.

“We condemn this horrific attack in the strongest terms possible,” CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said. “Such inexcusable acts of violence must be repudiated by Americans of all faiths and backgrounds. The American Muslim community stands shoulder to shoulder with our fellow citizens in offering condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured and in rejecting anyone who would harm our nation’s safety and security. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families impacted by this tragedy.”

University of Tennessee officials said Abdulazeez graduated in 2012 with an electrical engineering degree.

Abdulazeez excelled in science and math, Jones, the high school friend, recalled. He was also deeply religious, observing prayers five times a day and fasting during Ramadan. Jones said he never knew him to drink, smoke or do drugs.