RELIGION

A look at Chattanooga shooter's life reveals signs of trouble, but motive for attack elusive

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Abed al-Kader Ahmad al-Khateeb, a lawyer of Asaad Ibrahim Asaad Haj Ali, an uncle of the Chattanooga attacker, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, goes over paper during an interview with The Associated Press in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, July 21, 2015. The uncle of Abdulazeez, who killed four Marines and a sailor in attacks on Tennessee military sites last week, has been in custody in Jordan since a day after the attack, the lawyer said Tuesday. He also said he was barred from seeing his client and that family members were also prevented from visiting the detainee. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (The Associated Press)

Abed al-Kader Ahmad al-Khateeb, a lawyer of Asaad Ibrahim Asaad Haj Ali, an uncle of the Chattanooga attacker, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, July 21, 2015. The uncle of Abdulazeez, who killed four Marines and a sailor in attacks on Tennessee military sites last week, has been in custody in Jordan since a day after the attack, the lawyer said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (The Associated Press)

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was supposed to appear in court next week for driving under the influence. Instead, authorities are struggling to understand what led him to commit a far more heinous act: the cold-blooded assault that left four marines and a sailor dead and a nation on edge about terrorism.

They've described their search through the remnants of his life as a domestic terrorism investigation — but nothing about his comings and goings had caught their attention before the rampage Thursday morning.

At the scene of the first shooting Monday, in a small strip shopping center in Chattanooga, hundreds of people carried flags outside the military recruiting office where the rampage began.

Several miles away, where five servicemen were fatally shot, yellow police tape still blocked access.