CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Twenty Marines and two Navy corpsman were in the middle of an otherwise mundane task — just checking their equipment after a training mission — when the silver Mustang convertible came barreling through the gates of the reserve center on the banks of the Tennessee River.
The driver blasted his way through that facility for the next three to five minutes, officials said during a Wednesday news conference that provided the most complete account yet of how four Marines and a sailor were killed. The shooter’s motives remain unclear to investigators.
Muhammad Abdulazeez made his first stop at a military recruiting office about 7 miles away, sending recruiters there scrambling for cover from the hail of gunfire that left the front windows pocked with bullet holes. Abdulazeez never left the driver’s seat, staying only briefly before moving to his next target.
After plowing his rented car through the gates, and with Chattanooga Police chasing close behind, the gunman got out of the car and stormed into the building. He was ready for a shootout: Abdulazeez wore a vest with extra ammunition. One gun was found in his vehicle; an assault rifle and a handgun were found on him.
A service member inside the building saw Abdulazeez approaching and fired at him. The gunman shot back and then proceeded inside.
Once inside, he fatally wounded Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith and “continued to shoot those he encountered,” FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Ed Reinhold said at a news conference.
As police followed the gunshots, he then walked out the back door into a gated motor pool area, where troops tried to scramble over a fence to safety. It was there that the remaining four were killed: Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan and Lance Cpl. Squire Wells. When the shooting first started, troops inside the building went room to room to rush their colleagues to safety, said Maj. Gen. Paul W. Brier. Then, some rushed back into the fight.
Two guns belonging to service members were recovered at the scene, he said; shots were fired from at least one.
Both Reinhold and Brier declined to elaborate further on how the troops engaged Abdulazeez.
At one point, Abdulazeez tried to run back into the building. When he did, Chattanooga officers confronted him. A shootout erupted. One police officer was wounded; Abdulazeez was killed.
