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Five dead in Tennessee military shootings

July 16, 2015

A gunman has opened fire at two military-related facilities roughly 10 kilometers apart in Tennessee. The dead include four US marines; three others have been wounded.

https://p.dw.com/p/1G0KM
Shooting at Tennessee military facilities
Image: picture-alliance/AP/WRCB-TV

Five people have been killed after a gunman went on the rampage at two military-related facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Thursday.

Police say the dead included four marines and the suspected gunman.

Witnesses and local media said the man drove an open-top vehicle between two locations about 10 kilometers (6 miles) apart.

First, he drove up to a military recruiting center that houses five branches of the US military, where witnesses reported hearing up to 50 shots ring out.

The man then headed to a Navy and Marine Corps reserve center, where another barrage of gunfire was heard. Three others were wounded in the attacks, including a police officer and a Marine Corps recruiter.

Shooting at Tennessee military facilities
Immediately after the shootings, areas around the two facilities were put into lockdown.Image: picture-alliance/AP/WRCB-TV

In Washington, President Barack Obama pledged a thorough investigation into the attack. US authorities have described the assaults as brazen, brutal and "an act of domestic terrorism."

The FBI identified the suspect as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. The 24-year-old was born in Kuwait before moving with his family to the US as a child and becoming a naturalized citizen. He lived a short distance from the two facilities.

No motive was given for the attacks.

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berk described the attacks as "incomprehensible," before confirming that the gunman had been shot dead.

Lockdowns were immediately put in place around the shooting locations, and security was immediately tightened at federal facilities.

Two previous deadly shootings have taken place at US military installations over the past six years; a 2009 rampage at Fort Hood which left 13 dead and a 2013 attack at the Navy Yard in Washington which left 12 dead.

mm/jil (AP, Reuters)