CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—A single “pop” cut through the quiet morning. Those who heard it had a moment to ponder the noise.
On this ordinary Thursday, some thought a car had backfired, or maybe a tire had blown. Sgt. 1st Class Robert Dodge looked up from his computer in an Army recruiting office in a strip mall, more curious than alarmed.
Then a young man in a rented convertible re-aimed his rifle and unleashed a frenzy of bullets. These were the opening shots in a single-handed rampage against the military that seized this city for hours and reignited American fears about radicalization and homegrown terror. The shooter’s motive remains a mystery.
Glass shattered, televisions exploded, bullets whizzed past the heads of servicemen at their desks and rooted in the walls behind them. In nearby restaurants and hair salons and shops, people dived for cover or stood paralyzed by fear.
Inside the five side-by-side recruiting offices, one for each branch of the military and the National Guard, no one panicked.
“They were being soldiers,” said Keith Wheatley, the property manager, a Marine himself, who arrived moments after the attack. “That’s part of their job description. They know that any given time they could take fire, that’s what they do. They weren’t crying or upset. They were just trying to figure out what to do next.”
