Four Marines were shot dead Thursday after a gunman brazenly opened fire on two military facilities in Chattanooga,Tennessee. The shooter was also killed and three people -- including a police officer -- were injured, city officials said.
The injured cop was shot in the ankle, but is recovering, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said. Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker said that one of the persons injured was "fighting for their life," at a press conference late Thursday night.
Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, who police have identified as the shooter, allegedly used "numerous guns" when he opened fire at a military recruitment center around 10:45 a.m., authorities said, before driving to a Naval and Marine reserve center about 7 miles away.
Witnesses described him spraying the front of a military recruitment center in a shopping mall with bullets, CNN reported. "I could not believe how many bullet holes were in that door. It was insane,"April Grimmett told the network.
"It was a regular day. I mean, he just pulled up. I didn’t think anything of it,” witness Laneesha Lewis told WSMV. "He had his drop-top and he looked to the side. And the next thing we know, he lifted up his arms like this and a big black gun. And just it was one shot, and then it was endless shots, one after another. Just unloading."
The situation lasted for about 30 minutes before the gunman was killed. It is unknown whether he shot himself or was shot by police.
"It is incomprehensible to see what happened and the way that individuals who proudly serve our country were treated," Berke said at a press conference Thursday.
"As a city, we will respond to this with every available resource we have," Berke said.
The names of victims, including the four Marines who were killed, had not been released.
Marilyn Hutcheson, who works near the shootings, said she heard the shots.
"I was out on break this morning and I heard about 10 or 15 rapid fire shots, just 'pop pop pop pop,'" Hutcheson said. "The next thing I knew, there were cops everywhere. It’s just a frightening situation."
Carolyn Taylor, who works across the street from the second shooting location, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press she had heard what seemed like "eight, 10 rounds at a time."
Twitter user Mike Ball posted a photo of the alleged shooting site.
This story has been updated throughout. Reuters contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated the shooting took place on a military base.