UPDATED at 5:40 p.m. PT to include various government statements and more information about suspect
Four U.S. Marines were killed at an attack on a naval reserve facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday after a shooter targeted two separate military centers in the area, according to local officials.
The gunman was also killed, bringing the death toll to five. Three others, including a police officer, were injured in the attack.
"It is incomprehensible to see what happened and the way that individuals that proudly serve our country were treated," said Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke during a press conference, before indicating that the FBI had taken lead of the investigation.
Here's a picture of the recruiting center that was shot up. Friend on facebook took the pic pic.twitter.com/krOM7xwU6J— Michael Ball (@Mike_Ball423) July 16, 2015
"We are treating this as an act of domestic terrorism," the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee added, speaking during the press conference. Representatives from the FBI, however, were unwilling to confirm that statement, saying only that an investigation was ongoing and urged the media to "not put a label" on the attack.
Later, the U.S. Marine Corps confirmed the deaths but did not release the names, pending notification of next of kin.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam also offered his condolences.
We’ve had a tragedy unfold in Chattanooga today. I know Tennesseans join me in being sickened and saddened by this senseless act.— Gov. Bill Haslam (@BillHaslam) July 16, 2015
Shots were initially fired at a recruiting center on Old Lee Highway around 10:45 local time Thursday morning, according to a sketchy timeline given by local and federal officials. Edward Reinhold, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Knoxville Division, said that a police officer who was injured in the attack pursued the shooter as he traveled to the Naval Reserve center on Amnicola Highway. The police officer was shot in the ankle.
The shooter died at that location, and officials said the suspect is believed to be from the area.
Chattanooga police tweeted that an active shooter situation was over late in the afternoon on Thursday, though there was no word then on what had happened during the two attacks.
Active shooter situation is over. Details forthcoming #chanews— Chattanooga Police (@ChattanoogaPD) July 16, 2015
The U.S. Navy said in a tweet earlier in the day that there was a shooting at a Navy recruiting building on Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga.
President Obama also issued a statement on the shootings.
BREAKING: Obama vows prompt and thorough probe of Chattanooga shooting, says appears to be lone gunman.— The Associated Press (@AP) July 16, 2015
Additional statements were made by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who said, "I have directed the FBI to take the lead in the national security investigation of this heinous attack on members of our military."
Tennessee governor Bill Haslam made a brief statement to the press on Thursday evening, calling the day, “A horrible day for Chattanooga and a terrible day for all of Tennessee."
The attack led to lockdowns at hospitals, a community college, and shopping centers, as well as at the Governor's residence in Nashville before the shooter was confirmed killed.
Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, of nearby Hixon, Tennessee, was named as a suspect. Abdulazeez was a 2012 graduate in engineering from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and had served as an intern with the Tennessee Valley Authority during his time in school. He had an arrest in April on DUI charges.
NEW: #Chattanooga shooting suspect ID'd as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, law enforcement sources tell CBS News http://t.co/2ToNoHTmQk— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 16, 2015
BREAKING: Mohammad Youssduf Adbulazeer was arrested on a DUI charge on April 20, 2015. http://t.co/AGzuqBozcX pic.twitter.com/7GKI2TDsM7— Times Free Press (@TimesFreePress) July 16, 2015
The Associated Press reported that authorities searched the suspect's home and that two women were led from the home in handcuffs but there's been further information as to who the women are.
BREAKING: US official: No indication that Chattanooga gunman was on radar of US law enforcement.— The Associated Press (@AP) July 16, 2015
After news of the shooting broke, members of the community packed a local blood bank to make donations for those who were injured in the shooting.