Chattanooga killer a ‘ homegrown violent extremist,’ FBI says

The gunman who killed five military personnel at a Chattanooga, Tenn., installation last week was a “homegrown violent extremist” who acted alone during his rampage, an FBI official said Wednesday.

Ed Reinhold, special agent in charge of the investigation, said it was too early to say whether Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez had been radicalized, but he said the possibility was being investigated.

Abdulazeez, 24, attacked two military sites in Chattanooga on Thursday with a semiautomatic rifle and a handgun.

Reinhold said Abdulazeez never left his rented convertible during his first attack, a brief shooting spree at military recruiting offices where one officer was wounded. He then drove 7 miles to the Navy Operational Support Center, where his shooting rampage left four Marines and a Navy petty officer dead.

Reinhold said Adulazeez crashed his car through the support center gate, drawing fire from police at the scene. He drove up to the building and got out of the car shooting.

“He made his way through the building, pursuing sailors and Marines,” Reinhold said. One person was killed in the building, the rest were killed in a motor pool behind it, Reinhold said. Chattanooga police fatally shot Abdulazeez at the scene, ending a brutal firefight that took less than five minutes.

Reinhold said Abdulazeez’s guns were recovered at the scene, along with another in his car. Two guns belonging to servicemembers also were recovered, and one had been fired, Reinhold said.

Reinhold, asked whether friendly fire might have been responsible for one or more of the deaths, said it appeared the five victims were killed with the same weapon. Reinhold said authorities know where Abdulazeez’s guns were purchased but would not say whether they had been purchased legally.

GETTY IMAGES Abdulazeez