The Chattanooga shooting

I would like to dedicate a post to the Marines and other individuals that were wounded in the Chattanooga Tennessee shooting. If you are unfamiliar with the story it occurred on July 16, 2015.  A gun man named Mohammad Yousssuf Abdulazeez entered into a military recruiting center and opened fire.  He then went on to a U.S. Navy facility killing and injuring more innocent people. In total Mohammad shot seven people, killing four U.S. Marines. The four Marines that lost their life that day are Thomas Sullivan, a native of Hampden, Massachusetts; Squire “Skip” Wells, a native of Marietta, Georgia; David Wyatt, a native of Burke, North Carolina; and Carson Holmquist of Grants, Wisconsin.



These brave men were all combat veterans who served this country heroically. This incident has become a common occurrence throughout the United States. With all the terrorism and retaliation, innocent victims and civilians get caught in between the crossfire.

As these facilities were under attack, the Marines acted rapidly and evacuated the individuals that were in the building. Having found it to be their responsibility to assure everyone gets out safely and that the gunmen does not hurt any innocent victims, the Marines stood within the premises to secure the intruder from entering the building. In doing so these brave men risked and lost their own lives but were able to save the lives of seven other individuals. It is a shame that a careless act of violence has resulted in the deaths of such brave individuals who had served their country diligently. Even as these Marines found themselves in-between crossfire before, it is saddening to know that their lives were taken in the place where they were to be considered the safest, their own homeland.

Mohammad was known as an articulate college graduate with a bright future ahead of him, what has left us all flabbergasted is the reason of why this unfortunate took place. There are still ongoing investigations from the FBI to see whether or not this was a terrorist attack or not. For the time being they’re treating it as such. The rampage eventually came to an end when Lieutenant Commander Timothy White courageously pulled his own firearm and shot the assailant. Although this military office is a gun free zone and personal firearms are not permitted on the grounds, Lt. White reacted in a heroic way and saved the lives of other potential victims had he not responded quickly.

Lieutenant White deserves an honorable award; instead he is under scrutiny and may face possible legal charges for firing his weapon when he legally shouldn’t have. I think in this event there are certain circumstances that should be considered that may possibly outweigh the legality of the situation when it resulted in preventing further harm and death. He acted in defense and protected those who were not able to protect themselves. I will continue to follow this story and hope charges will be dropped for this brave hero. As to the men who lost their lives and the families that are undoubtedly suffering, my sympathy and admiration go out to all of you!