Netanyahu offers condolences over Tennessee shooting
PM says Israel ‘stands in solidarity with US’ after gunman opens fire at 2 US Army centers, killing 4 Marines
Israel “stands in solidarity with the United States,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, the day after an attack on army personnel in Tennessee left four US Marines dead.
“On behalf of the people and government of Israel, I extend our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and wish a speedy and full recovery to the wounded,” the prime minister said in a statement.
Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at two US military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Thursday, killing four Marines in a rampage that officials said was being investigated as an act of “domestic terrorism.”
Abdulazeez died in a firefight with police. Three other people were wounded — a police officer, a Marine Corps recruiter and a Navy sailor.
The incident served as an ugly reminder of other deadly shootings at US military installations, including a 2009 rampage at Fort Hood in Texas that left 13 dead and a 2013 attack at the Navy Yard in Washington that left 12 dead.
It also came amid fears about the threat posed by “lone wolf” attackers in the United States, though the motive in Thursday’s shooting was not immediately clear.
US President Barack Obama called the shootings “heartbreaking” and asked Americans to pray for the relatives of the victims.
“It is incomprehensible to see what happened and the way that individuals who proudly serve our country were treated,” Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said, praising the quick response by law enforcement to prevent further loss of life.
“Today is a nightmare for the city of Chattanooga.”
Bill Killian, the US federal prosecutor in that part of Tennessee, said the shootings was being treated as an “act of domestic terrorism.”
“We are looking at every possible avenue — whether it was terrorism, whether it was domestic, international or whether it was a simple criminal act,” FBI special agent Ed Reinhold said.
“We have no idea at this point what his motivation was behind this shooting,” Reinhold said.
“At this point, we don’t have anything that directly ties him to an international terrorist organization.”
So far there has not been any indication that anyone else was involved in the shooting.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the FBI would take the lead in the “national security investigation of this heinous attack on members of our military.”
Mayor Berke said Friday that Abdulazeez had not given authorities any reason to keep him under surveillance.
Chattanooga mayor Andy Berke spoke as federal and other authorities scrambled to try to determine a motive for Thursday’s shootings.
Media reports described Abdulazeez as having had a traditional American upbringing, including participation on school sports teams.
Berke, speaking on CNN early Friday, was asked whether the gunman had been on “the radar” of local authorities.
“He was not, as far as we know,” Berke answered.
He added: “Much of that information that involves terrorism we get from the federal government. We certainly didn’t have any indication that he was a threat or that yesterday something was going to happen.”
Berke said investigators at all levels are examining any and all connections the shooter may have had.
“Obviously the local component is important, but I can also tell you that law enforcement is not solely focused on the local part. They are examining what his connections were anywhere and everywhere,” the mayor said.
