The FBI said the shooter in last Thursday's incident in which five military personnel were killed in Chattanooga got inside the Naval and Marine Support Center off Amnicola Highway and was still shooting as he exited.
FBI Agent in Charge Ed Reinhold said a member of the military fired several rounds toward the gunman after he crashed his rented silver Mustang convertible through the gates.
He said Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez shot and wounded the first service member he encountered after going in the building. This was apparently sailor Randall Smith, who died two days later at Erlanger Hospital. He said he continued shooting in the building, then he killed more people after going out the back door into the motor pool section. The four Marines were shot and killed there - two initially and then two others.
The shooter was then shot and killed by Chattanooga Police.
He said all of the shots fired were from the same assault rifle. The shooter had two weapons on him along with ammunition. Another gun was in the vehicle. None of the weapons were modified. He said the FBI knows where the weapons were purchased, but he did not disclose that information.
He said two service members climbed over a fence to help others to safety. He said, "The heroic action of the military personnel doubtlessly saved many lives."
There were five weapons found at the scene, including the three from the shooter. One of the service weapons had been fired and the other had not.
He said it was not known if the shooter was hit by the gun fired by the service member. He said the victims were not hit by "friendly fire." He stated, "It looks like all of the victims were killed by the same weapon.
FBI Agent in Charge Reinhold said city police were pursing the shooter when he rammed through the gate. He had just come from firing a hail of bullets into the front door of the recruiting center on Lee Highway. He said police were behind the shooter on the highway, "yet not right on his bumper."
He said Officer Dennis Pedigo was shot when the city police first encountered the shooter. The shooting incident took 3-5 minutes. He said the shooter was moving at the scene and city police were following that movement. He said, "As soon as they encountered him they engaged him."
He said the FBI is interviewing every member of the shooter's family as well as his associates.
The case is being treated currently as the Hixson man being a "homegrown violent extremist," he said.
He said, "We believe he acted on his own on that day."
The FBI has received almost 400 leads and is following up on each of those. The FBI has 250 agents in Chattanooga and hundreds more elsewhere are working on the case.
Maj. Gen. Paul W. Brier, commanding general of the 4th Marine Division, said there were 20 Marines and two Navy corpsmen inspecting equipment at the facility.
He said several military personnel returned to fight the shooter after getting others to safety.