It was sunny and hot, typically of most July days in Chattanooga, only a terrorist was on the loose.
Ten years ago today, four United States Marines and one U.S. Navy sailor, quietly doing their duty at the Navy Operations Support Center off Amnicola Highway, were killed by a radicalized Muslim.
Their names, known collectively as “The Fallen Five” were Marine Sgt. Carson Holmquist, Navy Spec. Randall Smith, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Marine Lance Cpl. Skip Wells and Marine Staff Sgt. David Wyatt.
In an attack that began at a military recruiting center off Lee Highway, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez sprayed bullets through a front plate glass window, injuring a Marine recruiter.
In a rented silver Ford Mustang convertible, he then drove seven miles to the Amnicola site, where he rammed a security gate, drove to one of the center’s buildings, opened fire, exited his vehicle, entered the building, shot people outside another entrance and fired upon responding police from back inside the building. In total, he fired around 100 rounds. He eventually was shot and killed by officers.