Saturday, April 26, 2025
4:21 AM
Doha,Qatar
RELATED STORIES

Navy sailor dies, becoming 5th serviceman killed in Chattanooga

People, from different faiths, pray during an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Tennessee shooting, at Olivet Baptist church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, July 17, 2015. REUTERS

Reuters/Chattanooga, Tennessee

A male US Navy petty officer has died of wounds sustained in this week's shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the US Navy said on Saturday, raising the number of people killed in the attack to five.
The suspected shooter, Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, a Kuwaiti-born naturalized US citizen, also died on Thursday in a firefight with police after the rampage at a military recruiting office and a training center six miles away.
The Navy's brief statement did not identify the petty officer who died or provide his age or hometown.
But his step-grandmother identified him as Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith of Paulding, Ohio, who left behind a wife and three young daughters.
"He was an awesome young man," Darlene Proxmire told Reuters. "He loved his wife and children. He loved the Navy."
Four US Marines were also killed in the attack and two other people, a Marine and a police officer, were wounded.
A little more than 24 hours after the shooting, the FBI said it continued to investigate it as an act of terrorism and that it was "premature" to speculate on the motive.
"We are exploring all travel that he has done and we have asked our intelligence partners throughout the world to provide us with any information they may have," Ed Reinhold, FBI special agent in charge, said during a news conference on Friday.
The suspect traveled to Jordan and possibly other Middle Eastern countries for seven months last year, according to authorities, who are looking for any signs of a connection to Islamist militants.
Investigators will try to establish if he was part of an organization or the latest "lone wolf" militant. President Barack Obama has said radicalized individuals acting on their own pose a greater risk to the country than a large-scale operation.
Friends were shocked by the actions of Abdulazeez, who they said lived about 150 miles (241 km) away in Franklin, Tennessee, but had returned to his hometown to visit family for the Islamic  fasting month of Ramadan, which ended Thursday.
Born to Palestinian parents and raised in a Chattanooga suburb, Abdulazeez may have family in Jordan and may have made several stops, said a government source, adding that a visit to Yemen, long viewed as a training ground for Islamic militants, has not been ruled out.
Law enforcement officials have said they are investigating whether Abdulazeez was inspired by Islamic State or similar militant groups. Islamic State had threatened to step up violence during Ramadan.
But the FBI has stressed it had no indication that the attack was linked to that group.
Investigators believe family or psychological issues may have contributed, according to a government source, who was not authorized to speak on the record.
Abdulazeez sprayed gunfire at a joint military recruiting center in a strip mall, then drove to a Naval Reserve Center about 6 miles (10 km) away, where he killed the Marines before he himself was shot dead. Three other people were injured, including the sailor who the Navy said had died on Saturday.
The Marine Corps identified the four slain Marines as Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Sullivan of Hampden, Massachusetts,  Staff Sergeant David Wyatt of Burke, North Carolina, Sergeant Carson Holmquist of Polk, Wisconsin and reservist Lance Corporal Squire Wells of Cobb, Georgia.

Comments
  • There are no comments.

Add Comments

B1Details

Latest News

SPORT

Canada's youngsters set stage for new era

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.

1:43 PM February 26 2017
TECHNOLOGY

A payment plan for universal education

Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education

11:46 AM December 14 2016
CULTURE

10-man Lekhwiya leave it late to draw Rayyan 2-2

Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions

7:10 AM November 26 2016
ARABIA

Yemeni minister hopes 48-hour truce will be maintained

The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged

10:30 AM November 27 2016
ARABIA

QM initiative aims to educate society on arts and heritage

Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.

10:55 PM November 27 2016
ARABIA

Qatar, Indonesia to boost judicial ties

The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.

10:30 AM November 28 2016
ECONOMY

Sri Lanka eyes Qatar LNG to fuel power plants in ‘clean energy shift’

Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.

10:25 AM November 12 2016
B2Details
C7Details