Chattanooga Shooter Is IDed

The shooter who killed four Marines in Chattanooga, Tennessee, today has been identified as 24-year-old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, reports the AP and CNN. (His first name is sometimes spelled Mohammad.) Abdulazeez, who also was killed, is believed to be a native of Kuwait who had been living in Hixson, Tennessee, just a few miles from Chattanooga. His citizenship is unclear. Authorities later raided his house and were seen leading away two unidentified women in handcuffs. All four victims were shot to death inside a Navy and Marine reserve center, and two others were wounded. Minutes earlier, the gunman had opened fire on a military recruiting center just miles away, though nobody was injured in that attack.

Abdulazeez did not appear to be under investigation by the FBI prior to the shooting, reports the New York Times. “It is incomprehensible to see what happened and the way that individuals who proudly serve our country were treated,” said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. National security officials were keeping President Obama briefed on the attack. An Army sergeant recounts the first shooting: "We heard one single shot, which kind of sparked our attention. Shortly after that, just a few seconds, the shooter began shooting more rounds. We realized it was an actual shooting, so we then initiated our active shooter drill: getting down low to the ground, moving to a safe location. And we waited until everything seemed to be clear." (More Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez stories.)