Chattanooga Shooting: Kuwait-Born Shooter Kills Four Marines In Incident Near U.S. Army Reserve and Navy Recruiting Center

UPDATE 4:53 P.M.: The shooter has been identified as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. According to NBC News, Abdulazeez was born in Kuwait and later became a U.S. naturalized citizen. Heavy.com points out that there are conflicting reports as to how old Abdulazeez was. The Associated Press reports he was 24 while CBS News reports he was 41. An Isis-related Twitter account tweeted about Chattanooga just as the shooting began, according to JihadWatch.org.

Authorities have not identified a motive for the shooting.

UPDATE 3:00 P.M.: The Associated Press says that five people (four Marines and the lone gunman) are dead, contradicting the prior Huffington Post report.

UPDATE 2:19 P.M.: Marissa Bell, communications coordinator for the city of Chattanooga, Tenn., told The Huffington Post that four people were killed in the shooting, including the gunman. She said three other people are wounded and one is in critical condition.

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Six people were shot near Chattanooga, Tenn. on Thursday morning. A Chattanooga police officer and four Marines suffered gunshot woulds near the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center, according to NBC affiliate WRCB. The incident started at the U.S. Naval Recruiting around 11 a.m. and concluded at the reserve center on Amnicola Highway. Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke was at a press conference when the shooting occurred, according to Buzzfeed News. The wounded police officer is in stable condition but the status of the other victims is not yet known.

"There have been several shootings at several different locations," Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman John Harmon said, according to Reuters.

Reuters spoke to a witness who works at a glass company near the Navy facility. She said that the area was on lockdown after she heard the shots.

"We have heard multiple shots fired," said Marilyn Hutcheson of Binswanger Glass installation and repair service. "It's very scary ... right now it's a very fluid situation."

Another witness told CNN that the shooter used a high-powered rifle.

"I don't know how many shots he fired, but it was a lot," Gina Mule, the eyewitness, said.

The shooting caused many nearby establishments to go into security lockdown, including Chattanooga State Community College, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department and the Erlanger Medical Center emergency department. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the scene, according to Buzzfeed News.

The Chattanooga Police account kept residents of the area updated throughout the incident via Twitter:

NBC News reports that President Barack Obama has been briefed on the shooting. The Chattanooga Police Department is having a press conference shortly.

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Shooting, Guns, Tennessee, U.S. Navy, Army, U.S., News