Chattanooga gunman Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was described by classmates and former school coaches as a ‘humble’ student.
The 24-year old, who shot and killed four marines in Tennessee on Thursday, was born in Kuwait and became a naturalized citizen before when he moved to the United States with his family in 1996.
He was a starter for the varsity wrestling team at Red Bank High School and would sometimes miss practices so he could pray.
Despite his religious background, reports suggest he liked beer and played football while his former MMA coach Scott Schrader told CNN: ‘He was the All-American kid’.
His father was appointed as a ‘special policeman’ for local public works in 2005, but it has been revealed he was investigated several years ago because of possible links to terrorism.
It is not known if Abdulazeez had become radicalized in his practice of Islam, but according to The Daily Beast he published a short, cryptic blog, using hypothetical examples to describe the path of certain Muslims. He wrote only two posts, both dated July 13.
Smirking: Muhammad Abdulazeez, 24 (pictured), has been identified as the gunman behind a shooting that killed four in Chattanooga on Thursday. He smiles in a mugshot (left) following his arrest for driving under the influence in April. Right he is pictured training as an amateur MMA fighter
In the first post, entitled ‘A Prison Called Dunya,’ Abdulazeez uses the hypothetical example of a prisoner who is told he would be given a test that would either take him out of his earthly prison – or send him into a more restrictive environment.
He wrote: ‘I would imagine that any sane person would devote their time to mastering the information on the study guide and stay patient with their studies, only giving time for the other things around to keep themselves focused on passing the exam,.
‘They would do this because they know and have been told that they will be rewarded with pleasures that they have never seen.’
This life is that test, ‘designed to separate the inhabitants of Paradise from the inhabitants of Hellfire,’ he wrote.
The second post, called ‘Understanding Islam: The Story of the Three Blind Men’, suggests Abdulazeez felt his fellow Muslims had a ‘certain understanding of Islam and keep a tunnel vision of what we think Islam is.’
He describes a blind men who starts feeling an elephant but can’t quite tell what the creature is.
Abdulazeez says Muslims have a similar understanding of the earliest companions of the Prophet Muhammad.
He added that they ‘like priests living in monasteries is not true,’ he says; rather they were ‘towards the end of the lives were either a mayor of a town, governor of a state, or leader of an army at the frontlines.’
Finally he wrote: ‘We ask Allah to make us follow their path. To give us a complete understanding of the message of Islam, and the strength to live by this knowledge, and to know what role we need to play to establish Islam in the world.’
In his yearbook entry for Red Bank High School, where he was a starter for the varsity wrestling team, Abdulazeez wrote between two pictures of himself: ‘My name causes national security alerts. What does yours do?’
His family, who lived in the upscale neighborhood of Hixson, were regulars at a local mosque, but reports suggest Abdulazeez had not recently attended.
Happy student: Youssuf Abdulazeez attended the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga and graduated in 2012 with a degree in engineering. During high school he started for the varsity wrestling team and would sometimes miss training so he could pray
After leaving high school, he went to the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga where he graduated in electrical engineering.
Pictures on social media have emerged of him at his graduation ceremony and celebrating with members of his family in 2012.
He also became a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter. One of his bouts from 2009 was caught on video and uploaded to GoFightLive – a leading website for boxing and martial arts videos.
Coaches described how he would be training in the gym until 6pm. Then he would take a prayer mat into an office so he could worship.
In April, he was arrested for driving under the influence and was seen smirking in his mugshot picture.
Abdulazeez’s father, Youssuf Abdullazeez, was appointed as a ‘special policeman’ for Chattanooga’s Department of Public Works in March 2005, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
He was investigated several years ago for ‘possible ties to a foreign terrorist organization,’ the New York Times reported.
Citing unnamed law enforcement officials, the paper said the gunman’s father was at one point on a terrorist watch list and was questioned while on a trip overseas.
The paper quoted an official as cautioning that the investigation was several years old and had not generated any information on the son.
The father was eventually removed from the watch list, the paper quoted the official as saying.
A woman who was at school with Abdulazeez said he was a quiet kid, but well-liked.
Karen Wagner told the Times Free Press: ‘He was friendly, funny, kind,’ said Kagan Wagner. ‘I never would have thought it would would be him.’
‘They were your average Chattanooga family,’ she added.
Kevin Emily, his high school wrestling coach, told CNN he was just a ‘normal’, ‘humble’ student who would sometimes miss practice because he had to pray.
He described how his mother and father would come and watch his fights on a regular basis .
‘There were no red flags about anything. We had a tight bond together.’
Ryan Smith, who wrestled with Andulazeez, told the paper he was simply ‘a swell guy’.
Authorities are now trying to piece together his motives behind the attack, and are looking into whether he was influenced by ISIS.
