A 24-year-old Hixson man who went on a rampage and killed five military personnel at Chattanooga apparently went target shooting in the Tennessee River Gorge area just beforehand.
A Chattanoogan said he was canoeing the day before the shooting and heard Mohammad Abdulazeez shooting in the woods in a remote area.
The man, who said he thought he was being shot at, looked and saw a silver convertible.
The shooting continued and he got out of the area as quickly as possible.
Looking back, he said Abdulazeez was looking for an isolated place to try out his weapons.
Abdulazeez used the same rented convertible in shootings at a recruiting station on Lee Highway and then at the Naval and Marine center on Amnicola Highway.
The FBI earlier this week carried out an extensive search of the same area by the Tennessee River.