Little known of suspect in slayings of 4 Marines
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The man who authorities say killed four Marines in an attack on a military recruiting center and another U.S. military site was a 24-year-old, Kuwait-born engineer who had not been on the radar of federal authorities until the bloodshed.
Beyond that, little is known about Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez of Hixson, Tenn., or what motivated his rampage. Federal authorities were looking into the possibility it was an act of terrorism, but say there is no evidence yet that anyone else was involved — or that the public is in any danger.
Officials have said they do not know why the shooter targeted the facilities and have not said what weapons he used.
Residents in the neighborhood where Abdulazeez is believed to have lived said they didn't know him or his family well.
Hussnain Javid, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said Abdulazeez studied electrical engineering at the same college. They both graduated from Red Bank High School in Chattanooga several years apart. Javid said Abdulazeez was on the high school's wrestling team and was a popular student.
“He was very outgoing,” Javid said. “Everyone knew of him.”
The shootings took place minutes apart, with the gunman stopping his car and spraying dozens of bullets first at a recruiting center for all branches of the military, then driving to a Navy-Marine training center 7 miles away, authorities and witnesses said. The attacks were over within a half-hour.
In addition to the Marines killed, three people were reported wounded, including a sailor who was seriously hurt.
Authorities would not say publicly how the gunman died, but a U.S. official said investigators believe Chattanooga police fired the shot that killed him.
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