Chattanooga Attacker Wrote Of Martyrdom — News Reports

Lots of questions about Abdulazeez, his background, and his Muslim faith have been raised in the days since he opened fire on two military installations, leaving four Marines and a Navy sailor dead.

(Doug Strickland/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP).

A makeshift memorial of American flags and balloons is growing. Three people were wounded, including a sailor who died on Saturday.

(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski). Rodney Gray, left, prays during a memorial service at River Park Saturday, July 18, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn., for the victims of the Tennessee shootings. They’re still piecing together why Muhammad Abdulazeez, who had no known connection to ISIS, chose military facilities as his targets. The writings also indicate that he was displeased with the USA government and its war on terror.

The gunman killed four Marines and a sailor during an attack on two military facilities Thursday. “Through high school and college he did a better job sometimes than others staying with it”, the representative said. “He did not become, they say, radicalized upon his return”. He was set to face a judge later this month.

He also said Abdulazeez owned guns and brought him once to a gun range to show him how to work one. The windows, several of which were pocked with bullet holes after the shooting, have since been covered with plywood.

Adm. William Gortney directed additional “force protection measures” in orders sent Sunday night, Miller said. He would not go into further detail Monday to “protect operational security”.

The revelations come a day after Abdulazeez’s family said he was suffering from depression. He was seen dribbling a soccer ball in his yard.

However, a friend told CNN that Abdulazeez thought extremists like the Islamic State group were “doing wrong” and “it was a stupid group and it was completely against Islam”. In fact, the situation was so bad that Abdulazeez’s family kept calling him to check his whereabouts.

Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman Jason Pack declined comment on whether investigators were pursuing mental health records.

Law enforcement officials scheduled no public briefing Monday.

Divorce papers filed by his mother alleged that his father beat his wife and five children. She later agreed to reconcile. The claim fits a pattern of behavior by Abdulazeez that includes a drunken driving arrest earlier this year and the loss of a job over a failed drug test.

An officer said he also noticed irritated nostrils and a white powdery substance under his nose, but Abdulazeez responded that he had “crushed caffeine pills and snorted them” and that he was around friends who were drinking and smoking marijuana.

The arrest was “important” because Abdulazeez was deeply embarrassed and seemed to sink further into depression following the episode, the representative said. Some close relatives learned of the charge only days before the shooting.

“The person who committed this awful crime was not the son we knew and loved”, the statement said.