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| Chattanooga gunman: foreign links of 'a new generation of terrorist' investigated | Chattanooga gunman: foreign links of 'a new generation of terrorist' investigated |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Federal investigators are looking into the international connections and foreign travel of Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, the 24-year-old who went on a gun rampage in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday. Four marines and a sailor died. The death of the sailor from his wounds was confirmed by the navy on Saturday. | Federal investigators are looking into the international connections and foreign travel of Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, the 24-year-old who went on a gun rampage in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday. Four marines and a sailor died. The death of the sailor from his wounds was confirmed by the navy on Saturday. |
| Related: Chattanooga shooting: death toll hits five as navy says injured sailor dies | Related: Chattanooga shooting: death toll hits five as navy says injured sailor dies |
| The motives of Abdulazeez, who attacked a military recruiting centre and went on to take the lives at a navy-marine operations centre before he was killed by police, remain unknown or undisclosed. But senior officials leading the investigation have indicated that possible foreign links form one important line of inquiry in what is being described as a “terrorism investigation”. | The motives of Abdulazeez, who attacked a military recruiting centre and went on to take the lives at a navy-marine operations centre before he was killed by police, remain unknown or undisclosed. But senior officials leading the investigation have indicated that possible foreign links form one important line of inquiry in what is being described as a “terrorism investigation”. |
| The suspected gunman returned from a trip to Jordan in 2014 angry about conflicts in the Middle East and the reluctance of regional governments and the United States to intervene, a close friend of his told Reuters on Saturday. | The suspected gunman returned from a trip to Jordan in 2014 angry about conflicts in the Middle East and the reluctance of regional governments and the United States to intervene, a close friend of his told Reuters on Saturday. |
| Hours before the attack, Abdulazeez sent a text message to the friend, seen by Reuters, which links to a verse from the Qu’ran that includes the text: “Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, then I have declared war against him.” | Hours before the attack, Abdulazeez sent a text message to the friend, seen by Reuters, which links to a verse from the Qu’ran that includes the text: “Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, then I have declared war against him.” |
| Shocked neighbours and former classmates, though, described him as seemingly a normal suburban man. Just days before the shootings, Abdulazeez was seen dribbling a ball in his yard, and he told two longtime friends he was excited and upbeat about his new job at a company that designs and makes wire and cable products. | Shocked neighbours and former classmates, though, described him as seemingly a normal suburban man. Just days before the shootings, Abdulazeez was seen dribbling a ball in his yard, and he told two longtime friends he was excited and upbeat about his new job at a company that designs and makes wire and cable products. |
| “Everything seemed fine. He was normal. He was telling me work was going great,” said one of the friends, Ahmed Saleen Islam, 26, who knew Abdulazeez through the Islamic society of Greater Chattanooga and saw him at the mosque two or three nights before the attacks. | “Everything seemed fine. He was normal. He was telling me work was going great,” said one of the friends, Ahmed Saleen Islam, 26, who knew Abdulazeez through the Islamic society of Greater Chattanooga and saw him at the mosque two or three nights before the attacks. |
| “We are so shocked and angry,” Islam said. “We wish he would have come to us.” | “We are so shocked and angry,” Islam said. “We wish he would have come to us.” |
| On Friday, a vigil attended by Christians and Muslims at Olivet Baptist church was held for the victims, who included veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq and a fresh recruit. | On Friday, a vigil attended by Christians and Muslims at Olivet Baptist church was held for the victims, who included veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq and a fresh recruit. |
| Ed Reinhold, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation, told reporters it “would be premature to speculate on why the shooter did what he did, but we are conducting a thorough investigation over whether this person acted alone, was he inspired or directed”. | Ed Reinhold, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation, told reporters it “would be premature to speculate on why the shooter did what he did, but we are conducting a thorough investigation over whether this person acted alone, was he inspired or directed”. |
| But he added: “At this moment we have no indication that he was inspired by anyone other than himself.” | But he added: “At this moment we have no indication that he was inspired by anyone other than himself.” |
| The FBI confirmed that it was looking closely at the foreign travel of Abdulazeez, a naturalised US citizen who was born in Kuwait but was of Jordanian origin. | The FBI confirmed that it was looking closely at the foreign travel of Abdulazeez, a naturalised US citizen who was born in Kuwait but was of Jordanian origin. |
| “We are asking any partners around the world to tell us about his activities overseas,” Reinhold said. | “We are asking any partners around the world to tell us about his activities overseas,” Reinhold said. |
| Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives homeland security committee, went further, saying the shooting was “an Isis-inspired attack”. | Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives homeland security committee, went further, saying the shooting was “an Isis-inspired attack”. |
| McCaul said the actions of the gunman fell into the typical pattern of modern terrorism – radicalisation through the internet and before an attack targeting military installations on domestic soil, as directed online by Islamic State. | McCaul said the actions of the gunman fell into the typical pattern of modern terrorism – radicalisation through the internet and before an attack targeting military installations on domestic soil, as directed online by Islamic State. |
| “This is a new generation of terrorist,” he said. “This is not Bin Laden in caves with couriers any more. This is what the new threat of terrorism looks like.” | “This is a new generation of terrorist,” he said. “This is not Bin Laden in caves with couriers any more. This is what the new threat of terrorism looks like.” |
| McCaul added: “We must remain alert to the fact that there are people right here in America who are intent on striking from within.” | McCaul added: “We must remain alert to the fact that there are people right here in America who are intent on striking from within.” |
| Abdulazeez’s movements abroad remain poorly understood. The Kuwaiti government said he visited the country in 2010, passing onwards to Jordan. | Abdulazeez’s movements abroad remain poorly understood. The Kuwaiti government said he visited the country in 2010, passing onwards to Jordan. |
| The Wall Street Journal reported that he visited Jordan several times, spending about seven months there last year. It is understood that he had family in the West Bank. | The Wall Street Journal reported that he visited Jordan several times, spending about seven months there last year. It is understood that he had family in the West Bank. |
| There were also media references, unsourced and unconfirmed, of a possible visit to Yemen. | There were also media references, unsourced and unconfirmed, of a possible visit to Yemen. |
| For the past three months, Abdulazeez, who lived with his parents in a two-story home in Hixson, Tennessee, had been working at Superior Essex, which designs and makes wire and cable products. In April, he was arrested on a drunken driving charge. A mugshot showed him with a bushy beard. | For the past three months, Abdulazeez, who lived with his parents in a two-story home in Hixson, Tennessee, had been working at Superior Essex, which designs and makes wire and cable products. In April, he was arrested on a drunken driving charge. A mugshot showed him with a bushy beard. |
| Karen Jones, who lived next to the family for 14 years, said she was somewhat surprised last weekend by his appearance when she saw him walking with another man in woods behind the house, where he liked to shoot pellet guns at a red target suspended in a tree. | Karen Jones, who lived next to the family for 14 years, said she was somewhat surprised last weekend by his appearance when she saw him walking with another man in woods behind the house, where he liked to shoot pellet guns at a red target suspended in a tree. |
| “He had this big beard, which was not how he used to be,” Jones said. She said he was typically clean-shaven. | “He had this big beard, which was not how he used to be,” Jones said. She said he was typically clean-shaven. |
| He had graduated from Red Bank high school in Chattanooga, where he was on the wrestling team. A fellow Red Bank high graduate, Hussnain Javid, said Abdulazeez was “very outgoing”. | He had graduated from Red Bank high school in Chattanooga, where he was on the wrestling team. A fellow Red Bank high graduate, Hussnain Javid, said Abdulazeez was “very outgoing”. |
| “Obviously something has happened since then,” said Sam Plank, who graduated two years ahead of Abdulazeez but hadn’t crossed paths with him since 2006. “He was as Americanised as anyone else. At least that’s what it seemed like to me.” | “Obviously something has happened since then,” said Sam Plank, who graduated two years ahead of Abdulazeez but hadn’t crossed paths with him since 2006. “He was as Americanised as anyone else. At least that’s what it seemed like to me.” |
| The alacrity with which federal agencies have leapt at the terrorism label – while insisting they have not yet definitively classified the incident as a terrorist act – underlines anxieties about the vulnerability of military installations within the US. With the drawdown of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the fear is that the focus of attacks on US troops could switch to domestic soil. | The alacrity with which federal agencies have leapt at the terrorism label – while insisting they have not yet definitively classified the incident as a terrorist act – underlines anxieties about the vulnerability of military installations within the US. With the drawdown of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the fear is that the focus of attacks on US troops could switch to domestic soil. |
| The high stakes are underlined by the figures for US personnel around the world. Latest figures for March show that the overwhelming majority of the US armed forces are based in the 48 states of the continental US – some 1.1 million men and women in a total strength of 1.4 million. | The high stakes are underlined by the figures for US personnel around the world. Latest figures for March show that the overwhelming majority of the US armed forces are based in the 48 states of the continental US – some 1.1 million men and women in a total strength of 1.4 million. |
| Related: Chattanooga shooting victims: four marines 'will never be forgotten' | Related: Chattanooga shooting victims: four marines 'will never be forgotten' |
| Military recruiting centers like the one at which Abdullazeez opened fire have endured a number of attacks over the years. As the interface between the armed forces and the public, often located close to the centre of towns and clearly marked to attract the next generation of soldiers, naval personnel and air force pilots, they make easily spotted targets. | |
| They also operate a gun-free policy that is now being questioned by some security experts and politicians. | They also operate a gun-free policy that is now being questioned by some security experts and politicians. |
| Recruitment offices came under attack in the 1970s during the unrest over Vietnam, and they have also faced failed bomb plots from neo-Nazi groups and communist organisations. | Recruitment offices came under attack in the 1970s during the unrest over Vietnam, and they have also faced failed bomb plots from neo-Nazi groups and communist organisations. |
| In 2008 a bomb detonated outside a military recruiting office in Times Square, New York – though in that case the perpetrator, who was captured on video riding up to the office carrying the device on a bicycle, has never been caught and his motive remains obscure. | |
| The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report | The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report |