A
gunman has killed four United States Marines after opening fire at two
military facilities in Chattanooga, in the US state of Tennessee,
officials said.
The
suspect was identified by the FBI as 24-year-old Mohammod Youssuf
Abdulazeez, a naturalised American born in Kuwait who was also killed in
the incident on Thursday. Two others, a soldier and a police officer,
were wounded, an official said.
The
FBI said there was “no indication” that anyone else was involved in the
shooting as law enforcement authorities investigated the motive for the
attack.
The
Department of Homeland Security was stepping up security at certain
federal facilities “out of an abundance of caution” and supporting the
FBI investigation, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a statement.
Chattanooga is a city of about 173,000 people along the Tennessee River in the southeast of the state.
The
US Navy confirmed in a tweet early on Thursday afternoon that a
shooting had taken place at a recruitment centre on Amnicola Highway in
Chattanooga. Shortly after, the Chattanooga Police Department said the
situation had ended.
“Lives
have been lost from some faithful people who have been serving our
country, and I think I join all Tennesseans in being both sickened and
saddened by this,” Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam said.
Witnesses
and local media reports said the gunman, driving an open-top Ford
Mustang, fired at two locations including a military recruiting centre
and a US Navy Reserve centre about 10km apart. Witnesses said they heard
scores of shots.
US
President Barack Obama said early investigations indicated
that Abdulazeez was acting alone, but promised a “thorough and prompt”
inquiry.
“It
is a heartbreaking circumstance for these individuals who have served
our country with great valour to be killed in this fashion,” he said in a
statement from the Oval Office.
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