Chattanooga Suspect Texted Koran Verse Before Attack

Friend tells Reuters he was angry at the US
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2015 1:06 PM CDT
Chattanooga Suspect Texted Koran Verse Before Attack
This April 2015 booking photo released by the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office shows a man identified as Muhammad Youssef Adbulazeez.   (Hamilton County Sheriffs Office via AP)

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez sent a text message to a friend hours before the attack in Chattanooga that suggests he wanted revenge on the US for its role in the Middle East, reports Reuters. The message links to a verse in the Koran that reads in part, "Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, then I have declared war against him." Authorities knew Abdulazeez spent months in Jordan last year, and the friend says he returned angry about Mideast conflicts and, as Reuters puts it, "the reluctance of regional governments and the United States to intervene." (One of the victims sent out a final text as well, to his girlfriend.)

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