Navy says sailor injured in Tennessee shooting has died

“A male Navy Petty Officer succumbed to wounds received in the July 16 shooting at the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) in Chattanooga, Tennessee July 18 at 2:17 a.m.”, the Navy said in a statement Saturday.

Abdulazeez told the officer that he had crushed and snorted caffeine pills, and that he had been drinking and smoking marijuana with friends.

Authorities are trying to figure out why Abdulazeez – an accomplished student, well-liked peer, mixed martial arts fighter and devout Muslim – went on the killing spree.

The family of Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez said in a statement he had suffered from depression, and that there were “no words to describe our shock, horror, and grief”.

“He was a friend of mine, a good Muslim”.

“He never said anything that would have been a red flag”, Sheikh said. “However, we are conducting a thorough investigation to determine whether this person acted alone or was inspired or directed”.

The family added that they are co-operating with the investigation.

But the FBI warned against jumping to conclusions, after Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, branded the assault “an ISIS-inspired attack”, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.

In turning away from the grandiose bomb plots of al-Qaida, the Islamic State group has encouraged followers to carry out smaller-scale gun attacks that cause less carnage but require less planning and are harder to detect.

Officials stressed that Abdulazeez’s father was one of many people investigated for their funding of overseas charities, especially after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The gunman on Thursday sprayed gunfire at a military recruiting center at a strip mall, then shot up a Navy-Marine training center a few miles away.

The family of Chattanooga police officer Dennis Pedigo, who was injured in the melee, said he is in “good spirits” and wanted to thank the community for their thoughts and prayers, the police department said.

The law enforcement official said Saturday that the FBI has begun a second round of interviews with the gunman’s friends and associates in Tennessee. The Marine Corps identified them as Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sergeant David Wyatt, Sergeant Carson Holmquist and reservist Lance Corporal Squire Wells.

Two nights before the attack, Abdulazeez and some friends went joy riding in the hills surrounding Chattanooga in Abdulazeez’s rented gray convertible Mustang, passing through the towns of Whitwell, Dayton and Jasper, the friends said. The report could not be independently verified. The official was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. Abdulazeez was not on any USA databases of suspected terrorists. Breitbart reported yesterday that he failed a background check to work at a nuclear plant. The suit was dismissed and the couple signed a post-nuptial agreement. “He destroyed the lives of his whole family”.

“There’s this misconception that Islam is a violent religion”. But their son, Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, had reportedly spent time overseas in the Middle East. Records show that Abdulazeez visited Kuwait and Jordan in 2010 and had been seen in Jordan in 2014, sources told CNN.

The Islamic Society mosque where Mohammod worshipped cancelled activities to celebrate Eid, marking the end of Ramadan, but called all Muslims to attend a vigil at a Baptist church Friday night.