Shooter’s uncle being detained in Jordan
Man was taken into custody the day after Chattanooga attack but has not been charged with anything
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — An uncle of the man who killed four Marines and a sailor in Tennessee has been in custody in Jordan since a day after the attacks on two military sites, a lawyer said Tuesday. Abed al-Kader Ahmad al-Khateeb told the Associated Press that he was barred from seeing his client and that relatives also were prevented from visiting the detainee. Computers and cellphones were taken from the man’s home, but he has not been charged with anything, the attorney said.
Al-Khateeb identified his client as Asaad Ibrahim Asaad Haj Ali, a maternal uncle of the Chattanooga attacker, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez.
Sought help
A Jordanian official said Tuesday that he is sure the uncle and “other relevant people” in Jordan were being questioned, but he would not elaborate or confirm that the uncle was detained. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case with the media.
Abdulazeez spent several months in Jordan last year under a mutual agreement with his parents to help him get away from drugs, alcohol and a group of friends they considered to be a bad influence, according to a person close to his family.
Relatives turned to Jordan after their health insurer refused to approve an in-patient treatment program for Abdulazeez’s addictions to drugs and alcohol, the person said.
An FBI spokesman has declined to comment on that information.
Jordan is one of the most Westernized countries in the Middle East, with alcohol sold openly. However, the kingdom also has seen the spread of Islamic militant ideas in recent years, especially following the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011.
Not religious
Abdulazeez stayed with the uncle in Jordan but only to help him with his small cellphone business, the attorney said. Neither Abdulazeez nor his uncle was religious or belonged to any sort of political organization, al-Khateeb said.
“The uncle is a regular person; he has a company, he is a businessman, he has no relation with any militant group or organization,” al-Khateeb said. “He cares about his work and his family, and Muhammad is just his relative, the son of his sister. That’s it.”
Al-Khateeb is a prominent attorney and member of the Freedom Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest and largest opposition group in Jordan.
In the U.S., authorities are struggling to understand Abdulazeez’s motive. Investigators have described their search as a domestic terrorism probe.
According to a U.S. official familiar with the probe, investigators have found writings from Abdulazeez that reference Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.born cleric who encouraged and inspired attacks on the homeland and was killed in a U.S. drone strike in September 2011. The official was not authorized to discuss by name an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
However, investigators have said they have not found evidence that Abdulazeez was specifically directed by someone to carry out the attacks.
Many who knew Abdulazeez have described a clean-cut high school wrestler who graduated from college with an engineering degree and attended a local mosque. But the person close to the family talked about a darker side.
Abdulazeez was first treated by a child psychiatrist for depression when he was 12 or 13 years old.
Depression, insomnia
The family does not know if Abdulazeez ever received a specific mental health diagnosis, the person said. He clearly suffered episodes of depression and sometimes went for days without sleep while he was out partying with friends. But that behavior could have been connected to Abdulazeez’s drug abuse, the person said.
Abdulazeez also was heavily in debt because he could not hold down a steady job and talked with his family about declaring bankruptcy, the person said.
Court records point to a volatile family life. His mother filed for divorce in 2009 and accused her husband of sexually assaulting her and abusing their children. She later agreed to reconcile.