FBI checking gunman's phone, computer, trips for ISIL connection

Jane Onyanga-Omara and Greg Toppo | USA Today

Show Caption Hide Caption Family of alleged Chattanooga shooter: He was depressed The family of Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez has issued a statement saying that he has suffered from depression for many years. The 24-year-old is suspected of killing four Marines and a Navy petty officer in Chattanooga.

The FBI is examining Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez's cellphone and computer to determine whether the 24-year-old who killed four Marines and a Navy petty officer in Tennessee on Thursday was involved with the Islamic State terrorist group, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security said Sunday.

Investigators are also looking into Abdulazeez's recent trip to Jordan, federal law enforcement officials have confirmed. The officials, who are not authorized to comment publicly, said the gunman was not known to law enforcement officials prior to Thursday's attack.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam called for a review of security at National Guard armories and other military installations.

"We don't want to leave our folks out there as targets," Haslam told NBC's Meet the Press.

Haslam's office said he directed Maj. Gen. Max Haston, Tennessee's adjutant general, to review which Guard personnel are authorized to be armed while on duty and to "identify and arm additional Guardsmen where necessary to protect themselves, citizens, and Guard facilities."

Since the shooting, governors of at least a half-dozen states have ordered National Guardsmen to be armed. Florida Gov. Rick Scott moved his state's Guard recruiters in urban areas from storefronts to armories.

Appearing on ABC's This Week, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, didn't say whether his office believes that Abdulazeez was directly involved with or influenced by the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, but he said the group's members from Syria "activate people in the United States," targeting military installations and police officers.

"What keeps us up at night are the ones we don't know about," McCaul said. "And I'm afraid this case falls into that category."

Shooter's family says he suffered from depression The family of the man who authorities say killed four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga said in a statement that their son suffered from depression and was not the son they knew.

The FBI identified Abdulazeez as the shooter in the attack at a U.S. Navy Reserve Center in Chattanooga.

Abdulazeez's family released a statement through lawyers Saturday night, saying he suffered from depression "for many years."

In the statement, they expressed their "deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the honorable servicemembers and police officers who were victims of the shooting our son committed on Thursday in Chattanooga, Tennessee — our community, and one we have loved for over twenty-five years."

"Our prayers go out to the victims' families, friends, and everyone who is affected by this tragedy," the statement said.

"There are no words to describe our shock, horror, and grief. The person who committed this horrible crime was not the son we knew and loved. For many years, our son suffered from depression. It grieves us beyond belief to know that his pain found its expression in this heinous act of violence."

Abdulazeez, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Kuwait, died in a shootout with police. He had earlier shot up an armed forces recruitment center in the city. Hours before the rampage, he texted a link to an Islamic verse to a friend, Reuters reported. The message included the line: "Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, then I have declared war against him." The friend requested anonymity for fear of a backlash, according to the news agency.

Counterterrorism investigators, meanwhile, continued to interview acquaintances of Abdulazeez and delve into his months-long visit to Jordan last year, looking for clues to who or what might have influenced him.

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, Wis.; and Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells of Cobb, Ga. A fifth victim, Navy Petty Officer Randall Smith, a logistics specialist originally from Paulding, Ohio, died early Saturday.