Family Of Chattanooga Shooter Says He Suffered From Depression

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

Abbott joins governors in Florida and Louisiana in the call to arm Guardsmen after a gunman attacked a recruiting center and a Marine-Navy reserve facility in Chattanooga earlier this week. He had visited Jordan previous year, a US official said Friday, and investigators will review those overseas travels for potential worrisome contacts with militants.

An unidentified sailor seriously wounded in the attack remained hospitalized.

(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski). Sophia Ensley, left, comforts Barbie Branum by a makeshift memorial at the entrance to the Naval Operational Support Center and Marine Reserve Center Saturday, July 18, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the honorable service members and police officers who were victims of the shooting our son committed on Thursday in Chattanooga, Tennessee – our community, and one we have loved for over twenty-five years”.

The official says they also haven’t uncovered evidence suggesting Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was directly inspired by the Islamic State militant group.

FBI Director James Comey has warned of “poison” propaganda from terrorist organizations looking to convince impressionable Americans to kill military personnel and police officers on USA soil. His family said in a statement on Friday night that he was “in good spirits”.

In April, Abdulazeez was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

On Monday, yellow police tape still blocked access to the Marine-Navy facility where the killings happened Thursday.

Abdulazeez, 24, first shot up a recruiting center in a strip mall. The windows, several of which were pocked with bullet holes after the shooting, have since been covered with plywood.

“For many years, our son suffered from depression”, Abdulazeez’s family said in the statement, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

“He was medicated like many children are”. The FBI is investigating his motives.

The FBI is investigating two blog posts written on Monday to determine if Abdulazeez was behind them, including one that proclaimed that life is “short and bitter” and urged readers to “submit to Allah”, the Wall Street Journal reported. “It grieves us beyond belief to know that his pain found its expression in this heinous act of violence”, the Abdulazeez family said. But the Federal Burau of Investigation said Abdulazeez appeard to have been self-radicalized.

Going into the weekend, more details about Abdulazeez – a University of Tennessee engineering graduate and mixed martial arts enthusiast who grew up in a middle-class neighborhood – slowly emerged.

Abdulazeez’s friends said he had returned from a trip to Jordan in 2014 concerned about conflicts in the Middle East and the reluctance of the United States and other countries to intervene.

It’s unknown what substances were in the man’s system at the time of the slayings, but toxicology tests should provide an answer. Officers who pulled him over reported smelling alcohol and marijuana on his person.

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

Ed Reinhold, the special agent in charge of the regional FBI headquarters, said the gunman wore a “load-bearing vest” which allowed him to carry extra ammunition.

After returning from his trip, Abdulazeez reportedly purchased three assault rifles on the internet and used them for target practice. For many years, our son suffered from depression.

Linda Wallace, Smith’s grandmother, said she never anxious about him serving in the military because he was always stationed in the U.S. He was in Norfolk, Va., before transferring to Chattanooga.

Abdulazeez, who graduated high school in 2008, was well-liked and respected by his teammates, but Emily said he didn’t recall him dating in high school or having a girlfriend.

Mohsin Ali, a member of the Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga, has Christian friends and sometimes speaks at area churches about his Islamic faith.