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2015 Chattanooga shootings

SOLVED2015Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the morning of July 16, 2015, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez conducted a drive-by shooting at the Armed Forces Career Center on Lee Highway in Chattanooga, Tennessee, firing 30 to 45 rounds from an AK-47 into the recruiting office from his rental car and wounding a U.S. Marine. Only seven people were inside the center at the time. Abdulazeez then led police on a seven-mile pursuit to a U.S. Navy Reserve center on Amnicola Highway, where he rammed his vehicle through a security gate, opened fire, and entered a building housing Marine Corps and Navy personnel, fatally wounding a Navy sailor. He then moved into a fenced motor pool area and shot several Marines before briefly reentering the building and firing on responding police officers. Five Chattanooga police officers—Keven Flanagan, Jeff Lancaster, Sean O'Brien, Lucas Timmons, and Grover Wilson III—fatally shot Abdulazeez outside the facility. The entire episode spanned about thirty minutes, during which Abdulazeez fired approximately 100 rounds.

Four U.S. Marines died at the scene, and the wounded Navy sailor died two days later at a hospital. Victims were reported to have returned fire, provided cover, and helped others escape over a fence during the attack. Two additional people were wounded: Marine recruiter Sergeant DeMonte Cheeley, shot in the leg, and police Sergeant Dennis Pedigo Jr., shot in the ankle. Investigators later examined whether firearms carried by a slain Marine and by the reserve center's commanding officer had been used against Abdulazeez.

Abdulazeez, born in Kuwait in 1990 to Palestinian-Jordanian parents, moved to the United States in 1996 and became a citizen in 2003. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with an electrical engineering degree and had worked briefly at a nuclear power station before being dismissed after failing a drug test. He struggled with substance abuse, depression, and debt, and had been arrested for DUI in April 2015. Writings recovered after the shooting, some dating to 2013, referenced suicidal thoughts and a desire to become a martyr, and he had downloaded material by al-Qaeda figure Anwar al-Awlaki. No specific attack plan or explicit motive was found in his writings.

The FBI investigated the shootings as an act of terrorism from the outset. On December 16, 2015, then-FBI Director James Comey stated the investigation concluded Abdulazeez was "inspired, motivated by foreign terrorist organization propaganda," though the specific group could not be identified. The Navy subsequently awarded the Purple Heart to the victims. The attack prompted a range of security reviews and policy changes, including a Defense Department memorandum on facility security, a Navy investigation into base protections, and state-level decisions in Tennessee and other states regarding armed personnel at military and National Guard facilities.

Key facts

Victims
DeMonte Cheeley, Dennis Pedigo Jr.
Date
2015
Location
Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2015-07-11

    Abdulazeez purchased ammunition at a Wal-Mart store.

  2. 2015-07-13

    Abdulazeez wrote diary entries referencing life as a kind of prison and religious sacrifice.

  3. 2015-07-16

    Abdulazeez conducted a drive-by shooting at the Armed Forces Career Center on Lee Highway, then drove to a U.S. Navy Reserve center on Amnicola Highway, opened fire, killed four Marines, and was fatally shot by police.

  4. 2015-07-18

    The wounded Navy sailor died from his injuries at a hospital, two days after the shooting.

  5. 2015-07-21

    President Obama ordered flags at the White House, federal buildings, and embassies flown at half-staff.

  6. 2015-07-23

    FBI special agent Ed Reinhold said the attack was being treated as the work of a homegrown violent extremist.

  7. 2015-07-29

    Defense Secretary Ash Carter released a memorandum directing new security measures at military facilities.

  8. 2015-08-15

    Carter called for a review of domestic security procedures for military installations during a memorial speech.

  9. 2015-08-29

    The Navy launched an official investigation into security changes at reserve centers.

  10. 2015-09-26

    A 20-person Navy investigative team submitted a 41-page report on the shootings.

  11. 2015-12-16

    FBI Director James Comey announced the investigation concluded Abdulazeez was motivated by foreign terrorist organization propaganda; the Navy announced Purple Hearts for victims.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • DeMonte Cheeley

    VICTIM

    Marine recruiter shot in the leg, treated and released.

    citation on file

  • Keven Flanagan

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chattanooga police officer who fatally shot Abdulazeez outside the Navy Reserve facility.

    citation on file

  • Sean O'Brien

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chattanooga police officer who fatally shot Abdulazeez outside the Navy Reserve facility.

    citation on file

  • Grover Wilson III

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chattanooga police officer who fatally shot Abdulazeez outside the Navy Reserve facility.

    citation on file

  • Dennis Pedigo Jr.

    VICTIM

    Chattanooga police sergeant shot in the ankle.

    citation on file

  • Jeff Lancaster

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chattanooga police officer who fatally shot Abdulazeez outside the Navy Reserve facility.

    citation on file

  • Lucas Timmons

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Chattanooga police officer who fatally shot Abdulazeez outside the Navy Reserve facility.

    citation on file

  • Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez

    CHARGED

    Identified by the FBI as the perpetrator of the shootings; he was killed by police at the scene and was never formally charged or tried in a court due to his death.

    citation on file

  • James B. Comey

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    FBI Director who announced the investigation's conclusion that Abdulazeez was motivated by foreign terrorist propaganda.

    citation on file

Places

Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States

35.0327, -85.1846

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On July 16, 2015, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez opened fire at a military recruiting center and a Navy Reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing four Marines and a Navy sailor before being fatally shot by police.
Where did the shootings happen?
Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. 2015 Chattanooga shootingswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — CNNnews · CNN · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — NBC Newsnews · NBC News · 2026-07-07
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