(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
Chattanooga police officer Steven Meador helps place an American flag at a memorial set up in front of the Armed Forces Career Centre/National Guard Recruitment Office on Saturday.
AFP/Washington
The man who shot and killed five US troops in Tennessee suffered from depression his family said on Saturday in condemning the "heinous act of violence."
Four Marines and a sailor were killed in the attack - which authorities are treating as "an act of terrorism" - before the gunman Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez died in a shootout with police.
"There are no words to describe our shock horror and grief" Abdulazeez's family said in a statement cited by an NPR public radio journalist.
"The person who committed this horrible crime was not the son we knew and loved" it added.
"For many years our son suffered from depression. It grieves us beyond belief to know that his pain found its expression in this heinous act of violence."
Expressing its condolences to the families of the victims the Abdulazeez family also vowed to continue to cooperate with law enforcement.
Investigators are seeking to determine a motive behind Thursday's rampage on two military centres in Chattanooga.
Social media activity
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked foreign intelligence agencies to help trace Abdulazeez's movements and activities abroad and analysts are monitoring his activity on social media.
A law enforcement official told the New York Times investigators were looking into a text message Abdulazeez allegedly sent to a friend hours before the shooting to probe possible motives.
The text reportedly included an Islamic verse: "Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine then I have declared war against him" according to the newspaper.
Abdulazeez 24 was a naturalised US citizen born in Kuwait.
"Every one of our resources are being devoted to this investigation" Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke told CNN.
But the FBI warned against jumping to conclusions after Michael McCaul chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee branded the assault "an ISIS-inspired attack". "At this time we have no indication that he was inspired by or directed by anyone other than himself" FBI special agent Ed Reinhold said referring to Abdulazeez.
The shooting has jarred the city of 168000 where the Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga condemned the attack and cancelled its Eid al-Fitr celebrations out of respect for the victims.
Troubled past
Going into the weekend more details emerged about Abdulazeez a University of Tennessee engineering graduate and mixed martial arts enthusiast who grew up in a middle-class neighbourhood.
Investigators were looking at Abdulazeez's foreign travel with a reported trip to Jordan last year of particular interest.
There was evidence that he came from a troubled family. Divorce papers filed by his mother alleged that his father beat his wife and five children.
The father was also reportedly investigated for ties to a terrorist group but ultimately was cleared.
Abdulazeez's only known brush with the law was in April when he was arrested for driving under the influence.
He briefly worked at a nuclear power plant in Ohio in May 2013 but was fired after failing to meet minimum employment requirements a spokeswoman for Perry Nuclear Power Plant operator FirstEnergy said.
In Washington Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has asked for recommendations on how to boost security for troops and civilians at military installations.
But state governors in Arkansas Florida Indiana Louisiana Oklahoma and Texas signed executive orders that would allow US military personnel to carry firearms at recruiting centres.
Such facilities are often located in shopping malls with no special security measures and recruiting staff inside unarmed.
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