Investigators say Thursday's shootings at two military centers in Chattanooga, Tenn., in which four Marines and the gunman were killed is being investigated as an act of terrorism. But they say it's still premature to speculate on the motives of the shooter, Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez.
Bill Killian, U.S. Attorney of Eastern District of Tennessee, said at a news conference today the investigation is being led by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is continuing to investigate it as an act of terrorism until there's proof otherwise.
But, he added, "Don't get caught up in monikers."
"If you investigate it as a criminal act, and it becomes terrorism, you may have neglected to perform some investigation," he said. "We are investigating it at the highest level of investigation."
FBI Special Agent in Charge Ed Reinhold said it's premature to speculate on Abdulazeez's motives, and added the gunman had at least two long guns and one handgun. Some of the weapons were purchased legally; some may not have been, he said.
Reinhold said investigators are looking into any foreign trips Abdulazeez, of Hixson, Tenn., may have taken and what he did during those trips. He would not say where Kuwaiti-born Abdulazeez had gone, thought NPR and others have reported that he visited Jordan. His parents are Jordanian.
Investigators did not say Thursday how Abdulazeez died, but today Reinhold said he most likely was killed by fire by Chattanooga police officers. That is still being investigated.
Abdulazeez, he said, was not wearing body armor, and was carrying a load carrying vest to carry additional magazines of ammunition.
You can read NPR's Bill Chappell's reporting on the four Marines who were killed in Thursday's shootings, and NPR's Eyder Peralta's profile of Abdulazeez.
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