Tennessee suspect texted friend link to Islamic verse before attack

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Reuters) – Hours before the Tennessee shooting that killed five U.S. servicemen, the suspected gunman texted his close friend a link to a long Islamic verse that included the line: “Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, then I have announced war against him.”

His friend thought nothing of it at the time, but now wonders if it was a clue to Thursday’s rampage in Chattanooga, which has re-ignited concerns about the radicalization of youthful Muslim guys.

“I didn’t see it as a hint at the time, but it may have been his way of telling me something,” the friend told Reuters on Saturday. He requested anonymity for fear of a backlash.

The suspect, Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, a 24-year-old Kuwaiti-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was killed in a gunfight with police. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism, but said it was premature to speculate on the gunman’s motive.

While a rock-hard connection inbetween the suspect and radical Islam has not been established, the shooting goes after 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.

Abdulazeez’s friends said he had returned from a journey to Jordan in two thousand fourteen worried about conflicts in the Middle East and the reluctance of the United States and other countries to intervene.

He later purchased three attack rifles on an online marketplace and used them for target practice, the friends said.

“That excursion was eye-opening for him. He learned a lot about the traditions and culture of the Middle East,” said the close friend who received the text message.

Abdulazeez was upset about the two thousand fourteen Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza and the civil war in Syria, he said. “He felt Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia were not doing enough to help, and that they were strongly influenced by the United States.”

Another friend said, “He had always talked about it, but I’d say his level of understanding and awareness truly rose after he came back.”

U.S. authorities said Abdulazeez sprayed gunfire at a joint military recruiting center in a unclothe mall in Chattanooga, then drove to a Naval Reserve Center about six miles (Ten km) away, where he killed four Marines before he himself was shot dead.

Three other people were injured, including a U.S. Navy petty officer who died from his wounds on Saturday.

The Navy did not give the name of the sailor, but his step-grandmother identified him as Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith of Paulding, Ohio, who left behind a wifey and three youthfull daughters.

“He was an awesome youthfull man,” Darlene Proxmire told Reuters. “He loved his wifey and children. He loved the Navy.”

JORDAN Excursion WAS “EYE-OPENING”

Abdulazeez, an engineer, went to the Middle East in two thousand ten and visited several countries, according to his close friend. He then went to Jordan in two thousand fourteen to work for his uncle, and lived with his uncle and his grandparents there, he said.

After Abdulazeez returned, he seemed more mellow, less interested in partying. “That is part of what drew us closer. He was a fellow who wished to lodge down and get his life going. That connected us,” he said.

The night before the attack, just after ten p.m., the close friend received a text from Abdulazeez with a link to a Hadith, or Islamic training: sunnah.com/nawawi40/38.

The friend said he had been asking Abdulazeez for job advice, and continued to text him that evening and into Thursday but did not get a reply.

The friend said he was interviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI declined to comment on Saturday.

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 who specializes in Islam in the department of religion at Rice University in Texas.

According to Abdulazeez’s friends, he had purchased three guns on armslist.com after returning from Jordan, including an AK-74, an AR-15, and a Saiga 12. They said he also possessed a 9mm and a .22 caliber palm guns.

Armslist.com is an online listing site on which individuals can buy and sell firearms through private transactions. Critics say it enables people to obtain weapons without background checks, however the site has a disclaimer that it requires users to agree to go after all state and federal firearms laws.

Emails seeking comment from Armlist.com and Armslist Legal Defense Fund, created to defend Armslist against lawsuits, were not instantaneously answered.

GUNS, Swift CARS

Abdulazeez had sometimes smoked marijuana and drank alcohol, and struggled to reconcile that with his faith in Islam, his friends said. At one point, in two thousand twelve or 2013, Abdulazeez received therapy for his drugs and alcohol use, they said.

“He used it to de-stress, when things were difficult at home, or whatever,” the close friend said, adding that tensions inbetween Abdulazeez and his Palestinian parents had upset him. His parents almost got divorced in 2009, according to court records.

In April, Abdulazeez was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He was facing a July thirty court date for his DUI charge.

Abdulazeez also had problems with local youths that sometimes took on a religious and racial tone, his friend said.

“There were rednecks, ignorant people, who sometimes would cause problems. Mo never fought, but he used to get worked up and yell and stuff,” he said. “Afterwards he would peaceful down, and just say it doesn’t matter.”

Over the past few months, Abdulazeez and his friends practiced shooting in the Prentice Cooper state forest near Chattanooga, sometimes two or three times a week.

“He was always interested in guns, since he was youthfull. He embarked with a BB gun and paintball, and went on from there. We would go out shooting fairly often,” said the close friend.

Abdulazeez also liked driving prompt in the hills surrounding Chattanooga.

Two nights before the attack, he and some friends went joyriding in Abdulazeez’s rented gray convertible Ford Mustang, passing through the towns of Whitwell, Dayton and Jasper.

“Rapid car on a rainy night. We were flying, doing taut turns and drifting,” said the friend, adding that they returned home at about three o’clock in the morning.

“He seemed totally normal. We made plans to string up out on the weekend,” he said.

He said Abdulazeez had a good paying job and many plans for his life, including possibly kicking off a computer sales business in Chattanooga. “He wished to buy a car. He desired a movie console, to make a man cave – every fellow’s wish.”

He said it was difficult to understand how his friend became the suspect in the rampage.

“The signs just weren’t there,” he said. “The only thing I can think of is that it was a combination of things – what is happening overseas, his family problems, maybe some of the issues with the less educated people here. I don’t know.”

Extra reporting by Frank McGurty in Fresh York, Mark Hosenball in Washington, Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Tiffany Wu

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