Randall Smith, a Navy petty officer, died July 18, 2015, of wounds suffered in a shooting in Chattanooga, the U.S. Navy reports.(Photo: Facebook)
Navy Petty Officer Randall Smith, a <span style="color: Red;">*</span>logistics specialist originally from Paulding, Ohio,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>had suffered extensive damage to internal organs during the shooting at the U.S. Naval Reserve Center in Chattanooga on Thursday. <span style="color: Red;">*</span>Smith's death was confirmed by<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Darlene Proxmire, his step-grandmother,
WANE-TV reports.
The U.S. Navy
said in a statement<span style="color: Red;">*</span>that the victim died early Saturday but said it would<span style="color: Red;">*</span>not release his name for 24 hours.
The four Marines killed in the attack were identified as Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, of Springfield, Mass., Staff Sgt. David Wyatt of Burke, N.C., Sgt. Carson Holmquist of Polk, Wisc., and Lance Corporal Squire K. Wells of Cobb, Georgia.
The FBI has identified the shooter as<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24,a graduate in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The FBI said preliminary evidence indicates that Abdulazeez acted alone in the attack.
Ed Reinhold, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters Friday that the investigation into the shootings was being treated as an "act of terrorism" until evidence shows otherwise.
"We are saying that is a possibility that we will explore, but we have no indication that he was inspired or directed by anyone other than himself," the FBI agent said.
Abdulazeez a naturalized U.S. citizen from Kuwait, had traveled abroad, Reinhold said, and intelligence services overseas were attempting to gain more information on those visits. He declined to detail specific countries where the alleged gunman had traveled or when.
A federal law enforcement official said Friday that Abdulazeez took an extended trip to the Middle East last year, was gone for about seven months and was destined for Jordan.
The official, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said investigators are attempting to trace his movements while abroad to determine if he traveled beyond Jordan to volatile parts of the region.
Investigators in Chattanooga have confiscated computers and the equipment from the suspect's home in Hixson, Tenn., and are examining them for any clues as to links to terrorist groups.
In addition, the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist groups, said that Abdulazeez blogged on Monday that "life is short and bitter," and Muslims should not miss an opportunity to "submit to Allah." The report could not be independently verified.
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