FBI: No evidence Chattanooga shooter was part of jihadist group

An FBI official said investigators have no evidence at this point that anyone but a lone gunman was involved in the fatal shooting of four US Marines in Chattanooga,Tennessee.

FBI agent Ed Reinhold told a news conference Thursday night that the shooter initially fired from inside his car when he drove by a military recruiting center at a strip mall. Reinhold said the shooter then drove to another US military site, where he got out of his car before fatally shooting the marines.

Asked about potential accomplices, Reinhold responded, “There is no indication at this point that anybody else was involved.

“Obviously, we’re still at the beginning of this investigation,” he said. “We will explore any possibility and that includes whether or not anyone else was involved.”

Earlier, Reuters reported that US authorities were probing whether the attack was linked to the Islamic State or a similar jihadist group.

US Attorney Bill Killian says investigators do not believe that there are any threats to the general public following the fatal shooting.

Killian told a news conference Thursday night that the investigation into the shooting is “an ongoing extensive and expansive investigation with federal, state and local agencies, headed by the FBI.

“As far as we know, at this juncture there are no safety concerns for the general public,” Killian said.

Authorities also told the news conference that they still have not uncovered a motive for the shootings.

The shooter, who was killed following the attack, was identified by the FBI as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, a 24-year-old Kuwaiti native. It was still unclear whether he was also a US citizen.

Shocked friends and family described him an “all-American kid” from an “average” family.