How Did Gunman Go From Ordinary Suburban Kid to Killer?

The man who authorities say killed four Marines in an attack on a military recruiting center and another U.S. military site was a 24-year-old, Kuwait-born engineer who had not been on the radar of federal authorities until the bloodshed

An FBI investigator investigates the scene of a shooting outside a military recruiting center on Friday, July 17, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. AP Photo/John Bazemore

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — To neighbors and former classmates, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was a well-mannered, outgoing young man who seemed “as Americanized as anyone else.” He wrestled in high school, his sister played tennis, and they enjoyed dinners with neighbors.

About the only change they noticed in him lately was his bushy new beard.

Now, investigators are trying to understand why the 24-year-old Kuwait-born man opened fire on two U.S. military sites in Chattanooga in an attack that left four Marines dead and raised the specter of terrorism on U.S. soil. He was killed by police.

Abdulazeez did not appear to have been on federal authorities’ radar before the bloodshed Thursday, officials said. But now counterterrorism investigators are taking a deep look at his online activities and foreign travel, searching for clues to his political contacts or influences. 

This April 2015 booking photo released by the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office shows a man identified as Mohammad Youssduf Adbulazeer after being detained for a driving offense. Hamilton County Sheriffs Office via AP