Reporters scour social media for answers in Chattanooga shooting
The New York Times and The Washington Post shared a blog that was supposedly written by the gunman, and Fox News gave false information about a tweet.
Abdulazeez first shot rounds at an armed forces recruiting station before driving to the Navy Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center, where he killed the Marines. Three others—a Marine Corps recruiter, soldier and police officer—were injured in the attack. Abdulazeez was also killed.
Though there are speculations the shooting may have been ISIS-inspired because Ramadan, Muslim’s holy month, ended on Thursday, investigators have not confirmed a connection.
“We will explore that option, but at this point, we don’t have anything that directly ties him to an international terrorist organization,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Edward W. Reinhold said during a press conference on Thursday night. “We have no idea at this point what his motivation was behind the shooting.”
Though federal officials have not announced a motive or ties to terrorist organizations, members of the news media have turned to social media sources in order to uncover information.
The New York Times reported the following information:
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