One of the four Marines killed during Friday’s attack in Chattanooga may have been armed and could have exchanged fire with shooter Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, the Washington Post reported on Monday.
Marines are not authorized to carry personally owned firearms at the Navy Operational Support Center, the second location Abdulazeez attacked during his violent spree, and where all five military fatalities occurred. But the FBI recovered a pistol from the scene which may have been “privately owned and used by one of the Marines,” according to the Post. Investigators are reviewing forensics to determine if the pistol was used to fire at or wound Abdulazeez, who died during the violence.
WASHINGTON – While safety concerns at military recruitment centers have been a long-standing issue, last week’s fatal shootings at two Tennessee installations underscore the deep risk recruiters face daily and the scramble at state and national levels to prevent a similar tragedy from taking place again.
The U.S. military on Monday confirmed to Fox News it directed recruiting centers across the country to step up security measures in the wake of the deadly rampage that claimed the lives of four U.S. Marines and a Navy sailor.
At the same time, a handful of governors have taken steps to beef up security measures at National Guard recruitment centers.
Governors in six states – Florida, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas – ordered their Guardsmen to be armed.
Adm. Bill Gortney, head of the U.S. Northern Command, which oversees security for military facilities in the United States, issued a directive Sunday night calling on centers to implement modest measures while the Department of Defense hammers out more substantial steps to reduce the risk to recruiters.
Recruiters typically set up shop in highly-visible areas, like strip malls or storefronts to attract the most amount of people. Most are unarmed – and it’s this combination that some security analysts say creates the perfect conditions for an attack.
Not only are recruiters under pressure to deliver candidates who can clear basic mental and physical tests, they are doing so with ongoing budget cuts. The Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps are being asked in fiscal year 2016 to recruit 2,000 to 9,500 more active-duty members.
After the governors' decision to arm Guardsmen, Florida Gov. Rick Scott took it a step further when he signed an executive order to relocate six recruiting centers to armories.
As governor, Scott oversees the Florida National Guard and can act without federal involvement. He also ordered officers to make sure all full-time members of the guard are armed “in the interest of immediately securing Florida National Guardsmen who are being targeted by ISIS.”
Authorities say Mohammod Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at a military recruiting office in Chattanooga on Thursday. Thirty minutes and a police chase later, five military members and the gunman were dead.
While the shootings are being investigated as domestic terrorism, there has been no hard link between the attack and ISIS, authorities said.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson authorized the Arkansas National Guard Adjutant Gen. Mark Berry to arm full-time military personnel.
“I want to join in those who are calling for greater security at our recruiting centers and military installations,” Hutchinson said. “We’ve had numerous instances of attacks. Clearly, they are a target, and for us to have unarmed military personnel makes no sense.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday he will authorize Adjutant Gen.John Nicholas of the Texas National Guard to arm National Guard personnel at military facilities across Texas.
“After the recent shooting in Chattanooga, it has become clear that our military personnel must have the ability to defend themselves against these types of attacks on our own soil,” he said. “Arming the National Guard at these bases will not only serve as a deterrent to anyone wishing to do harm to our service men and women, but will enable them to protect those living and working on the base.”
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Indiana’s Gov. Mike Pence issued similar orders.
Governors in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina have not issued specific orders to arm but have started the process to step up security.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s press secretary David Smith told the local paper the “governor has reached out to (Tennessee Adjutant) Genb. Haston, and we’re looking at appropriate next steps.”
Brian Robinson, spokesman for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, said the governor would not order National Guardsmen to arm themselves, “because current state law allows members of the Guard to arm themselves if they choose to.”
North Carolina’s Gov. Pat McCrory instructed the Department of Public Safety and the North Carolina National Guard to step up security measures at recruiting centers, armories and readiness centers statewide but did not issue an order forcing them to arm.
“We will be vigilant in protecting those who protect us,” McCrory said in a statement. “These men and women are putting their lives on the line to serve our country and it’s our responsibility to ensure everything that is within our power to do for their safety is done.”
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In a recent home invasion captured on a home surveillance system, 3 armed intruders get a harsh dose of reality when they’re met with fast moving lead projectiles.
The edited video begins on May 12 at 2:11 a.m. The homeowners 2 cats start stirring as the 3 intruders attempt to gain entry.
After breaking in, the trio creeps through the house for several moments. One retrieves a knife, while the others retrieve wire and electrical cable. The homeowners boyfriend (who was asleep in another room) believes the intruders were going to use the wire and cable to tie up his girlfriend and himself.
The intruder with the knife allegedly then walks into the girlfriends bedroom (off camera) and lunges at her. She fires a single shot from a revolver, narrowly missing her would-be attacker. She then pursues the 3 intruders and ends up firing a second shot.
By this time her boyfriend has awoke in the next room, and he too has a weapon to investigate. By this time, the 3 armed intruders have jumped out of an open window.
The boyfriend clears the lower level and hits the panic button on the alarm panel. He then darkens the house and retreats to another room with his girlfriend.
In only 4 days, the above video has garnished over 1 million well-deserved hits on YouTube. It serves as prime example of why every law-abiding American should always be armed.
