Five Marines were shot and killed Thursday morning in a shooting at two military facilities in Tennessee, according to a report by the Associated Press. The sole gunman was killed. A police officer was also shot but he has survived and is being treated, according to reports.The Marine Corps has not yet confirmed whether any Marines were injured in this morning’s shooting. The attacker Abdulazeez had a handgun and two long guns in his possession when police killed him at a Navy Operational Support Center, and another rifle was seized when police searched his home, the official said.The handgun was registered in his name, the source said. Officials believe the shotgun and AK-47-style gun were legally obtained, the source said. The 24-year-old engineering graduate wore a “load-bearing vest” that allowed him to carry extra ammunition, said Ed Reinhold, special agent in charge of the regional FBI office. The Chatanooga shooter, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, was a Kuwaiti-born Muslim and naturalised US citizen and had recently begun sporting a beard. For this reason alone, the shooting was instantly classified as a terrorist attack by the US authorities. His recent trip to the Middle East has raised suspicions that Abdulazeez may have been influenced or recruited by an anti-west terrorist organisation, such as Islamic State. However, it would be a mistake to overlook the similarities between this shooting and the string of mass shootings by civilians. According to a diary of the shooter, discovered by the FBI, Abdulazeez had suicidal tendencies and idealised “becoming a martyr”. He also had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. These facts connect him to the other shooters. Yet, despite these parallels, this attack has been classified as an act of terror and not gun violence. The reason that only attacks by Muslim shooters are classified as such and that attacks against Muslims are not considered hate crimes is because the US state sees its Muslim citizens as ‘the other’. This attitude further fuels the resentment of Muslims living in the US and makes them more susceptible to radicalisation, and that vicious cycle cannot be broken unless the US authorities and media stop stereotyping minorities and judging entire demographics for the actions of a few. Since 9/11 Muslims have been living under constant fear as number of innocent muslims had been picked by the FBI and tortured.
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