Two months after July 16 attack, many questions remain unanswered

A man walks past five American flags hang on the railing of the Tennessee Riverwalk in front of the Navy & Marine Corps Reserve Center on Tuesday, September 15, 2015. A man walks past five American flags hang on the railing of the Tennessee Riverwalk in front of the Navy & Marine Corps Reserve Center on Tuesday, September 15, 2015.

By Shelly Bradbury September 16, 2015 20 min read

When a lone gunman killed five U.S. service members in a July 16 attack on two military sites in Chattanooga, the city began a search for answers — a search that continues today.

Some answers came quickly. Within hours, the shooter was identified as Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24. The FBI opened an investigation and the city learned that Abdulazeez, a local man, raced in a rented Ford Mustang from the Armed Forces Recruiting Center on Lee Highway to the U.S. Naval and Marine Reserve on Amnicola Highway, rammed through a gate and started shooting with an assault rifle.

Fast fact

Immediately after the attack, there were more than 900 FBI personnel working the case. Today, there are 75 FBI agents still investigating the shooting that killed five people.

Complete Coverage:
Terror in Chattanooga

Carson Holmquist,

Skip Wells

Within a day, the U.S. Marine Corps identified the four slain Marines as Sgt. Carson Holmquist, 25; Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, 40; Lance Cpl. Squire “Skip” Wells, 21; and Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, 35. A fifth man, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 26, died from his wounds on July 18.

After a week, the Times Free Press could trace Abdulazeez’s steps from the beginning to the end of the attack, when he was shot dead by police. But then, federal investigators clamped down and the flow of information froze. Now, two months after the attack, many key questions remain unanswered.