--- description: Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez traveled to Qatar at least once during a trip to the Middle East in 2014 title: The Tennessee Gunman Went to Qatar in 2014 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2ded40229e5da28/69885bb18e06010088461777/abdulazeez-chattanooga-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [National Security](/tag/national-security/) ## National Security Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Officials Probe Why Tennessee Shooting Suspect Visited Qatar in 2014 by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2015 3:21 AM CUT  Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez poses for a mugshot photo after he was was arrested on April 20, 2015, on a DUI offense Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez poses for a mugshot photo after he was was arrested on April 20, 2015, on a DUI offenseHandout/Hamilton County Sheriff's Office/Getty Images by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 21, 2015 3:21 AM CUT The chief suspect in the [killing](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/20/us-usa-tennessee-shooting-idUSKCN0PU1SY20150720 "undefined") of five U.S. service members in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Thursday had traveled to Qatar at least once during a trip to the Middle East in 2014. The reasons for Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez’s stopover in the Qatari capital Doha or the duration of his stay are still unknown, reports Reuters. Qatar has both native jihadist supporters as well as a U.S. air base. Counterterrorism officials are also investigating a seven-month trip Abdulazeez took to Jordan in 2014 with his family. Officials are examining whether he became radicalized during this trip, but there is currently no evidence to suggest the 24-year-old had any contact with militant groups or individuals. Abdulazeez, a Kuwaiti-born [naturalized](http://time.com/3962344/chattanooga-muhammad-youssef-abdulazeez/ "undefined") U.S. citizen of Jordanian descent, opened fire at a military recruiting center in Chattanooga on Thursday, before driving to a naval-reserve facility where he shot and killed four Marines. Three people were injured including a sailor who died the following Saturday. Abdulazeez was killed in a subsequent gunfight with law-enforcement officers. On Monday, an official close to the investigation told Reuters that there was evidence that the suspect could have had access to jihadist propaganda online. \[[_Reuter_s](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/20/us-usa-tennessee-shooting-idUSKCN0PU1SY20150720 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3965377/mohammad-youssef-abdulazeez-qatar-investigation-tennessee-shooting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3965377/mohammad-youssef-abdulazeez-qatar-investigation-tennessee-shooting/"},"headline":"U.S. Officials Probe Why Tennessee Shooting Suspect Visited Qatar in 2014","datePublished":"2015-07-21T03:21:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:25:06.593Z","description":"Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez also spent seven months in Jordan last year with his family","url":"https://time.com/3965377/mohammad-youssef-abdulazeez-qatar-investigation-tennessee-shooting/","keywords":["National Security","Terrorism","shooting","Travel","Middle East","Tennessee","Marines","Qatar"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2ded40229e5da28/69885bb18e06010088461777/abdulazeez-chattanooga-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2ded40229e5da28/69885bb18e06010088461777/abdulazeez-chattanooga-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Four Marines and One Sailor Killed In Military Center Shootings In Chattanooga, Tennessee","caption":"Four Marines and One Sailor Killed In Military Center Shootings In Chattanooga, Tennessee","creditText":"Handout/Hamilton County Sheriff's Office/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3965377/mohammad-youssef-abdulazeez-qatar-investigation-tennessee-shooting/","name":"U.S. Officials Probe Why Tennessee Shooting Suspect Visited Qatar in 2014"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Tennessee Shooter Identified","description":"The gunman who opened fire at two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee has been identified as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/iZyiJ8ZA/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-07-16T21:45:09.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iZyiJ8ZA.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3965377/mohammad-youssef-abdulazeez-qatar-investigation-tennessee-shooting/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3965377/mohammad-youssef-abdulazeez-qatar-investigation-tennessee-shooting/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```