Family of Chattanooga gunman offers condolences

The family of Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez said in a statement he had suffered from depression, and that there were "no words to describe our shock, horror, and grief."

Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire on two military facilities in Chattanooga on Thursday, killing four marines, before he himself was shot dead by police. A fifth victim, navy officer Randall Smith, died of his injuries on Saturday.

"The person who committed this horrible crime was not the son we knew and loved," the Abdulazeez family statement said.

"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."

The Abdulazeez family also offered their condolences to the families of the victims, and said they would continue to cooperate with law enforcement.

Authorities have said they are treating the case as an act of terrorism, and are working to establish Abdulazeez's precise motives, including whether he was inspired by any terror groups.

"Every one of our resources are being devoted to this investigation," Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke told US broadcaster CNN.

Text message

Suspicions of a terrorist motive were deepened by the revelation on Friday that Abdulazeez - a Kuwaiti-born naturalized US citizen - had traveled to the Middle East in 2010 and 2014.

Hours before embarking on his shooting rampage, the engineering graduate allegedly texted a close friend a link to a Hadith, or Islamic teaching, that included the line: "Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of mine, then I have declared war against him."

For jihadists and ultraconservative Salafist Sunni Muslims, the Hadith "is usually understood within the context of al-wala wa-l-bara (or) love for Islam and hatred for its enemies," said David Cook, an associate professor specializing in Islam at Rice University in Texas.

The unnamed friend who received the text message told Reuters that Abdulazeez had returned from a trip to Jordan in 2014 concerned about conflicts in the Middle East and the reluctance of the United States and other countries to intervene.

"That trip was eye-opening for him. He learned a lot about the traditions and culture of the Middle East," the friend said, adding that on his return, Abdulazeez had bought three assault rifles online and used them for target practice.

Abdulazeez's only known brush with the law was in April, when he was charged with driving under the influence. Divorce papers filed by his mother suggest he may have had an unhappy home life, including allegations his father was physically abusive towards his wife and five children.

nm/jlw (Reuters, AP, AFP)