CHATTANOOGA, US // At least four American marines were killed and a soldier and police officer wounded on Thursday in twin shootings at military facilities in the US state of Tennessee.
The sole gunman, identified as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, was also killed.
US attorney Bill Killian said officials were treating the attacks in the city of Chattanooga as an “act of domestic terrorism”, though FBI special agent in charge Ed Reinhold said authorities were still investigating a motive.
Abdulazeez is believed to have been born in Kuwait, but it was unclear whether he was a US or Kuwaiti citizen. He lived in the Chattanooga neighbourhood of Hixon.
“Lives have been lost from some faithful people who have been serving our country, and I think I join all Tennesseans in being both sickened and saddened by this,” state governor Bill Haslam said.
Special agent Reinhold said that all the dead were killed at Chattanooga’s navy operational support centre and marine corps reserve centre.
The two entrances to the fenced facility have unmanned gates and concrete barriers that require approaching cars to slow down to drive around them.
A facility seven miles away on Old Lee Highway was also attacked. Brian Lepley, a spokesman for the US army recruiting command in Fort Knox, Kentucky, said his recruiters there were told by law enforcement that the shooter was in a car, stopped in front of the facility, shot at the building and drove off.
Army recruiters at the facility told Mr Lepley they were not hurt and had evacuated, but the spokesman had no information about recruiters for the other branches at the facility.
* Associated Press