Thursday, July 16, 2015

Here's What We Know About The Chattanooga Shooter

This April 2015 booking photo released by the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office shows a man identified as Mohammad Youssduf Adbulazeer after being detained for a driving offense.

Hamilton County Sheriffs Office via AP

Hours after four Marines were shot and killed at two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday, authorities identified Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez as the suspected gunman who also died in the attack.

What sparked the shooting remained unclear as local and federal investigators began to dig into the multiple crime scenes and background of the 24-year-old man who was reportedly born in Kuwait.

According to property records and public documents, the Abdulazeez lived in Hixon, Tennessee, less than 10 miles from Chattanooga.

An online resume that appears to have been posted by Abdulazeez shows he had a background in engineering, and graduated from Red Bank High School.

His yearbook picture showed the young man with a clean-shaven face and short-cut hair during his last year at the school.

For his senior quote, he chose: "My name causes national security alerts. What does yours do?" and signed it "Hijabman."

After high school, Abdulazeez seemed to be leaning toward a career in engineering.

Travis Brickey, a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority confirmed to BuzzFeed News that Abdulazeez worked as an intern there about five years ago.

According to his resume, Abdulazeez conducted several power engineering tasks while at the authority.

The resume also lists his work as an intern at Mohawk Industries, Inc., and Global Trade Express.

Via Facebook.com

In September 2012, Abdulazeez graduated with a bachelor's of science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

His mother posted pictures of Abdulazeez in his graduation gown on Facebook.

"Thank God for the good blessing," his mother Rasmin Abdulazeez wrote in Arabic. "My son procured his degree in engineering."

Her Facebook account, and that of other relatives, have since been taken down.

Abdulazeez also seemed to have developed an interest in mixed martial arts fighting, stepping into the ring for a fight in 2009 that was recorded.

youtube.com

He was active in sports, including soccer and ultimate frisbee, according to an acquaintance who said he knew the 24-year-old.


According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Abdulazeez was arrested just three months before the shooting on suspicion of driving under the influence.

What sparked the shooting, as well as Abdulazeez's motivations, remained unclear, including whether it was an act of domestic or international terrorism.

At his Hixon home, SWAT teams and FBI agents swarmed Abdulazeez's neighborhood, according to the Associated Press and Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Ryan Smith, who wrestled with Abdulazeez at Red Bank High School, told the newspaper Abdulazeez was an "unbelievable nice person."

"He was honestly one of the funniest guys I've ever met," Smith said.



from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1Me4KMd

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