Jordanian authorities have detained the uncle of Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez since last week’s fatal shooting of five USA servicemen in Tennessee, the uncle’s lawyer told the Associated Press on Tuesday. They are analyzing what Abdulazeez’s family says was a recent fascination with powerful weapons, highlighted by this video he reposted on social media about AK-47s.
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“We don’t yet know all of the details behind the attack in Chattanooga, but we do know that al Qaeda and ISIL have encouraged attacks on American soil, including against our service members”, U.S. President Barack Obama said at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Pittsburgh.
Earlier on Monday, another source close to the probe asserted investigators had evidence in that the suspected gunman had online exposure to general jihadist propaganda in that may have inspired the rampage. He may have been seeking some religious guidance to conduct an act. The official was not authorized to discuss by name an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Still, the official said, the writings do not describe planning for any specific attack, leaving the authorities struggling to piece together a motive for Mr. Abdulazeez, 24, to mount an assault on two military sites last Thursday. His friends and family swear they did not see it coming.
A Jordanian government official said Tuesday that some of Abdulazeez’s relatives in Jordan were being questioned as part of an investigation into his stay in the kingdom.
Dozens of additional FBI agents are in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Monday.
His drug history seems to point toward mental and emotional struggles, and away from Islamist militancy, experts say, since “personal use of alcohol and drugs is inconsistent with the message of Islamic extremists”.
Recently, the Chattanooga shooting gunman had been working the night shift at a manufacturing plant and was taking medication to help with sleeping problems in the daytime.
Then, there was the April 20 DUI arrest, which the source called “important” since Abdulazeez was embarrassed by it and seemed to sink deeper into his depression. The arresting officer noted a smell of marijuana in the auto. He had drug abuse problems and was anxious about debt, according to his family and a diary he left behind, ABC News reported, citing a family representative.
“He bragged about [the car], and was showing it off to friends about how fast it would go”, the family representative said Sunday.
Four Marines were killed on Thursday when Abdulazeez, after ramming his rented Ford Mustang through a gate, headed into the reserve center and began firing.
The revelations come a day after Abdulazeez’s family said he was suffering from depression.
But the person close to the family talked about a darker side. He owned guns and would shoot squirrels and practice on targets behind his house.
Abdulazeez traveled to Jordan for a months-long visit with his uncle in 2014.
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A family spokesman characterized the writings, which are at least a year old, as a loose assemblage of Abdulazeez’s thoughts, some of which he described as “gibberish” and some clearly reflecting someone who was very depressed. Three people were wounded, in addition to a sailor who died on Saturday.The shooting follows a series of attacks, or thwarted attacks, in the United States and other countries by Muslims claiming to be inspired by Islamic State or other militant groups.
