An uncle of Chattanooga gunman Muhammad Abdulazeez is being detained in Jordan, it has been revealed.
Lawyer
Abed al-Kader Ahmad al-Khateeb told the AP news agency that his client,
Asaad Ibrahim Asaad Haj Ali, was taken into custody the day after the
attack that left five US military personnel dead.
Abdulazeez was killed by police during a shootout that ended the attack.
He stayed with Mr Ali while on a long trip to Jordan last year.
Mr
al-Khateeb said that Mr Ali, the gunman's maternal uncle, is being held
without charge and has not had access to his lawyer or his family.
He also said that computers and mobile phones were confiscated from Mr Ali's home.
Speaking
to the AP on condition of anonymity, a source identified only as a
Jordanian official said that the uncle and "other relevant people" in
Jordan were being questioned in relation to the attack. The official
would not confirm that the uncle was being held.
Abdulazeez travelled to Jordan last year and spent several months in the country.
Abdulazeez was killed in a firefight with police
A person close to the family
said that Abdulazeez made the trip in order to escape drugs, alcohol and
friends his parents thought were a bad influence.
The family had
sought drug rehabilitation treatment for Abdulazeez in the United
States, but decided to send him to Jordan after their health insurer
refused to approve an in-patient programme.
The FBI would not comment on these details.
Mr
al-Khateeb claimed that Mr Ali and Abdulazeez were not religious and
said that they did not belong to any political organisations.
"The
uncle is a regular person, he has a company, he is a businessman, he
had no relation with any militant group or organisation," the lawyer
said. "Muhammad is just his relative, the son of his sister. That's it."
In
Chattanooga, a city in Tennessee, investigators are working to try and
ascribe a motive to the attacks, which they say are being treated as a
matter of domestic terrorism.
Investigators have said that they
have not found evidence that Abdulazeez was specifically directed by
someone to carry out the attacks.
The flag atop the White House
was lowered to half-staff on Tuesday, where it will remain until sunset
on Saturday, in honour of the four marines and one sailor who died in
the attacks.
Official buildings, including military bases, will follow a similar protocol.
US police have been searching the
house of a 24-year-old man who was killed after shooting dead four
Marines in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The attacks at two US Navy
sites on Thursday morning were being investigated as an "act of domestic
terrorism", said a district lawyer.
The FBI has said it has no indication of what Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez's motive was at this stage.
A female sailor remains in a serious condition in hospital.
Two others were also injured.
Police
have sealed off the area around the house in which the gunman lived as
they attempt to piece together what led to the attacks.
Eye-witnesses said two women were led away from the house in the Hixson suburb of Chattanooga in handcuffs. Profile: Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez
The FBI has said it has no indication that Abdulazeez was linked with
any international terrorist organisations or that others were involved.
FBI agent Ed Reinhold told a news conference the gunman
initially fired from inside his Ford Mustang at about 10:45 local time
(14:45 GMT) at a US Navy recruitment centre in the east of the city.
He
then drove to a US Navy reserve centre about seven miles (10 km) away
where he got out of his car before fatally shooting the Marines.
He was shot dead on Amnicola Highway.
President Barack Obama said the attack was "heartbreaking".
Media captionUS
President Obama: "It is a heartbreaking circumstance for these
individuals who have served our country with great valour to be killed
in this fashion"
Analysis: By Gary O'Donoghue, BBC News, Tennessee
The
investigation is still at an early stage, but it appears that Muhammad
Youssef Abdulazeez was acting alone. What made him do what he did will
be the subject of intensive inquiries that will delve deep into his past
and that of his friends and family, and into his state of mind.
But lone wolves, as such men are often described, are the hardest to stop.
Both
the president and the head of the FBI have recently underlined this
problem and called on local communities to be vigilant for the signs of
any radicalisation.
It is also hard for the authorities to
protect all potential targets. The first location at which Abdulazeez
began firing was an army recruitment office, in the middle of a strip
mall, flanked by a mobile phone shop and an Italian restaurant - in
other words, firmly within the local community. Many will not want the
military to retreat completely behind barbed wire and concrete barriers. A
blog that Abdulazeez wrote was monitored by the SITE Intelligence Group
which checks on extremist activity, and could provide a useful lead for
investigators.
In a post written on Monday, he said, "This life
is short and bitter" and that Muslims should not let "the opportunity to
submit to allah... pass you by".
Abdulazeez is believed to have been born in Kuwait, but has lived in the US for several years.
He was arrested earlier this year in Chattanooga for driving under the influence of alcohol.
But officials told AP that Abdulazeez was not known to federal law enforcement before the attacks.
Photographs from the US Navy recruitment centre showed bullet holes in the windows
He left this message in his school yearbook: "My name causes national security alerts. What does yours do?"
A
statement from the US Department of Homeland Security said it was
"enhancing the security posture at certain federal facilities, out of an
abundance of caution".
Recent incidents at US military recruitment centres
December 2010: Muhammad Hussain planned to detonate a bomb at a centre in Catonsville, Maryland, but the plot was foiled by FBI.
June 2009: Abdulhakim Muhammad carried out a drive-by
shooting outside a centre in Little Rock, Arkansas. One person was
killed and another was wounded.
March 2008: Unnamed bombers set off explosives near a Times Square centre in New York City. No one was hurt in the blast.
Four US Marines have been killed in shootings at two US Navy buildings in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The district lawyer said the two incidents were being investigated as an "act of domestic terrorism".
Shots were fired at a US Navy reserve centre and at a recruitment office about seven miles (10 km) away.
Chattanooga city police said it was the same gunman at both locations and confirmed that the "active shooter" had been killed.
An official identified the gunman as 24-year-old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, according to the AP news agency.
He
is believed to have been born in Kuwait, but it is unclear whether he
was a US or Kuwaiti citizen. He is associated with an address a few
miles outside Chattanooga.
FBI agent Ed Reinhold, who is leading
the investigation, said the first shooting occurred at about 10:45 local
time (14:45 GMT) at the recruitment centre in the east of the city.
After
opening fire on the building, the gunman then fled the scene in a Ford
Mustang and was pursued by Chattanooga police, Mr Reinhold told
reporters.
The gunman was eventually killed by police near the US Navy reserve centre on Amnicola Highway, about a five minute drive away.
'Horrific incident'
The US Marines confirmed in a statement that there were "four Marine fatalities" at the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Centre in Chattanooga.
They
said one Marine Corps recruiter was wounded but was later released from
hospital. Two other people are believed to have been treated for
injuries.
Photographs from the US Navy recruitment centre showed bullet holes in the windows
"This is a sad day for the
United States. These service members served their country with pride,
and they have been the victims of these shootings," Bill Kilden, the
federal prosecutor for eastern Tennessee, said.
"We are investigating this as an act of domestic terrorism," he told reporters.
City Mayor Andy Berke tweeted: "Horrific incident in our community... Prayers to all those affected."
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the gunman firing from inside a car outside the recruitment centre.
Gina Mule, who works at a local restaurant, told CNN she heard "really loud noises" and saw a man with a "high-powered rifle".
"A lot of shots were fired," she added.
A statement from the White House said President Barack Obama has been briefed on the incident.
