In the wake of the deadly shooting at military recruiting and reserve centers in Tennessee, the Army’s top officer said security surrounding those facilities will be reviewed.
Gen. Ray Odierno told the Associated Press that it is too early to say whether they should have security guards or other increased protection.
Federal officials said Thursday the attack that killed four Marines and wounded three others including a sailor was being investigated as a terrorist act until proven otherwise.
The victims were Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan of Hampden, Massachusetts; Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt of Burke, North Carolina; Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist of Polk, Wisconsin; and Lance Cpl. Squire K. "Skip" Wells of Cobb County, Georgia.
Sullivan, Wyatt and Holmquist had served in Iraq, Afghanistan or both.
CDR Todd Hofstedt, the CO of the Navy Recruiting District San Diego, talked with NBC 7 about the shooting and said most recruiters have deployed overseas and many of them have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This is just kind of a reminder dangerous reminder that the world is a dangerous place not only overseas, but at home as well. And so our recruiters remain on watch all the time,” Hofstedt said.
Local
Investigators say a gunman opened fire at the military recruiting center in a strip mall in Chattanooga, then drove to a Navy-Marine training center a few miles away and shot up the installation.
The bullets smashed through windows and sent service members scrambling for cover.
Brandon Elder, who works at a staffing company in the strip mall where the recruiting office is situated, said he heard what he thought was a jackhammer, and then someone shouted, "He's shooting!"
Elder said he looked out his window onto the parking lot and saw a man in a silver convertible Mustang, a gun propped out the window, spraying bullets into the storefronts.
"He was in front of the recruiting office, just riding up, reversing and driving back," he said. The barrage lasted maybe three or four minutes, and then the driver took off, he said: "It was crazy, surreal, like a movie. Is this really happening?"
Investigators identified 24-year-old Kuwait-born Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez as the gunman killed by responding police. An autopsy has not been conducted, according to investigators.
Investigators say they found two long guns and one handgun in his possession. Some of the guns were purchased legally, according to federal officials.
As to whether staff in recruiting centers should carry guns, Odierno said there are legal issues. He also said centers need to be open and accessible to the public.
