CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) – A maternal uncle who hosted the Chattanooga shooter in Jordan for a few months last year is a businessman with no links to any militant groups, his attorney says.
Asaad Ibrahim Asaad Haj Ali took in his nephew, the now-deceased Mohamad Youssef Abdulazeez, under a mutual agreement with his parents to help him get away from drugs, alcohol and a group of friends they considered to be a bad influence, according to a person close to his family. The person spoke on condition of anonymity, out of concern it would have business repercussions. Abdulazeez helped Haj Ali in his small cellphone business, according to the uncle’s lawyer, Abed al-Kader Ahmad al-Khateeb.
Haj Ali has been detained since Friday, a day after Abdulazeez killed four Marines and a sailor in attacks on two military sites in Tennessee, al-Khateeb told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Al-Khateeb said he was barred from seeing his client and family members were also prevented from visiting the detainee. Computers and cellphones were taken from the man’s home, but he has not been charged with anything, the attorney said.
“The uncle is a regular person, he has a company, he is a businessman, he has no relation with any militant group or organization,” al-Khateeb said. “He cares about his work and his family, and Muhammad is just his relative, the son of his sister. That’s it.”