these victims are wanting closure and they want justice. they'll be there when the verdict is read. >> that verdict just one hour from now. we're getting breaking information on the shootings in chattanooga. i turn you known over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." \s happening now -- breaking news domestic terrorism. a gunman attacks two military centers in chattanooga. cnn has just confirmed his i hadty. >> we are treating this as an act of domestic terrorism. deadly rampage. was the shooter intent on killing more people? were there other tarts? and whether he was planning something even more deadly. lack of security the attack is raising news new questions about the vulnerability of u.s. military sites. is enough being done to secure them? i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room."

we're following breaking news. a deadly shooting rampage targeting a u.s. navy reserve center and u.s. military recruiting center in chattanooga, tennessee. four u.s. marines are confirmed dead at least three other people have been injured, including a police officer. the gunman is also dead. sources have just identified him to cnn as muhammad youssef abdulazeez born in 1990. at of now, it is being treated as an act of domestic terrorism. and a verdict has been reached in the trial of james holmes who shot and killed 12 people in a movie theater in aurora colorado. he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. we're stand i by for the verdict to be read. we're covering the breaking news this hour with our correspondents and our guests. our justice correspondent pamela brown begins our coverage. pamela we're getting new details about this shooter. tell us what we know. >> the fbi is now officially

identifying the shooter, wolf as 24-year-old muhammad youssef abdulazeez. in this statement just out from the fbi, it says while it would be premature to speculate on the motives, we will provide updates as they are available. i have learned from sources, wolf that the fbi is treating this at this stage as a terrorism investigation. this is being investigated by the joint terrorism task force. at this point, officials have not determined a specific motive but this is being treated as a terrorism investigation. we've learned from authorities that the shooter, muhammad yousef abdul site lived in the area there, but i'm being told by source at this stage it doesn't appear he was someone on the fbi's radar, and it doesn't appear at this stage he had direct connections to the military. i can tell you, wolf there has been a heightened state of alert, especially in the last

few weeks at military installation because of the threat from isis. we don't know again, even though it's being treated as a terrorism investigation by the fbi what the motivation was for this shooter. that is what authorities are trying to figure out right now as we speak. wolf? >> pam, we are also getting a new warning from the department of homeland security in the aftermath of this murder down in chattanooga. what do we know about that? >> secretary jeh johnson said that dhs is monitoring the situation, offering resources, but also said that in direct response to what happened the two shootings of military facilities that dms has ordered the security posture to be raised at federal facilities across the country in direct response to these shootings, wolf. >> thanks very much. we'll get back to you, pamela brown. let's go to the scene. victor blackwell is there for us. tell us victor what law enforcement is looking into at

the scene and you're right there. >> reporter: wolf we have seen law enforcement here the fbi, the atf start to open up the other businesses and look inside to see if there was other damage there. we know they are trying to find out exactly what motivated this attack markers down in a parking lot -- actually let me get out of the way. it looks like authorities are settling in for some time here. it was just before 11:00 this morning when the shooter, who has been identify as muhammad youssef abdulazeez came to this location shot the armed forces career center dozens of bullet holtz in the windows, and then drove to another location where we now know those four marines were killed. eventually the shooter himself was killed. >> there's some who are coming to conclusions based on his name and based on this being the final day of ramadan, but a special agent with the fbi is saying do not rush to

conclusions. they will look at this investigation from many angles. >> we are looking at every possible avenue whether it was terrorism, whether it was domestic international, or whether it was a simple criminal act. we're looking at that. >> reporter: wolf just a moment ago, i witnessed a pretty powerful moment in which a young man, matthew spurgeon 20 years old, came to this location and right in front of the crime tape fell to his knees and started sobbing. after a moment with clergy they were asking why did you come back here? he said this is where i was recruited into the air force several years ago, and that door with the bullet holes in is is not just a door. it is a gateway, a gateway to the life that made me the man i am today. wolf this. >> victor obviously a very emotional scene there as well. stand by. we'll get back to you. i want to bring in tom fuentes,

former fbi assistant director and evan perez our justice reporter. evan i assume that the authorities are going through all of the e-mail traffic, social media background all of his phone calls, muhammad youssef abdulazeez 24 years old. >> they're doing exactly what we're doing, trying to figure out what social media history there is of this suspect, perhaps what trouble with the law he's had before. at this point he was not someone the fbi even knew about or one of the hinges of people they had under investigation. that's what's bother some. there were all these warnings about whether or not there were people who might carry out some attacks. we also knew there were a lot of concerns about the end of ramadan, and tomorrow begins the end of the holy month of ramadan, so that was also something that law enforcement

and intelligence officials were concerned about, because they viewed that that would be a moment a time that might trigger people who want to carry out inspired attacks against law enforcement, again u.s. government against u.s. military. again, we don't know the motivation yet of this suspect, but this is all the things they are looking at at this point. >> it's not going to take long though tom, for the fbi, other laws infers authorities, local, state, federal, to find out a lot about muhammad youssef abdulazeez. >> they'll find out a lot quickly, but it will take time for the internet service providers to provide the reports, e-mail accounts phone reports, may have to go back through the metadata who he's called the last couple years. so there's a lot of that type of information, the search of his residence, computers, does he have laptops there or other literature indicating why he might have a motivation to do this.

there's a great deal to be learned yet before they can really decide what the motive might have been. >> and they'll speak to his family hi friends. >> family friends, colleagues neighbors, anyone associated with him, certainly. >> the u.s. attorney in chattanooga says they're investigating this as an act of domestic terrorism, does that rule out the possibility that it could be international terrorism? >> no, it's an unnecessary thing for them to investigating. what they are investigating is why did he commit the murders. the jurisdiction for the fbi would apply just for the murder of the marine corps, because they're u.s. government representatives and they're military officers performing duty but not in combat. that's why. on the left part of the screen those are bodies down there, we assume the bodies of those four u.s. marines who were shot and killed just a little while ago in chattanooga. we're seeing these aerial photos coming in right now. stand by. i want to go to our white house correspondent jim acosta. i take it jim, the president

has been briefed on this shooting rampage? >> reporter: that's right, wolf, the president just returned to the white house in the last couple moments. he did not make any comments when he returned from his trip from oklahoma but our producer said the president had a grim expression on his face as he returned back into the white house. i should tell you wolf the white house has been very tight-lipped about this case. aides will only say the president has been briefed, his's getting constant updates from officials. earlier in the day you've heard questions about what the local authorities believe may be behind there. there was some talk it may be related to domestic terrorism. the fbi officials who was there during that news conference seemed to back away from that. i asked officials what about that? can you sort that out? they're just not doing that at this point. you've seen this as well we've

had heard that in the aftermath down in south carolina. there is of course other concern at the white house, and that's whether cases might be connected to a global terrorism organization or you may have a lone wolf inspine by global terrorist organization like isis isis. that's an ongoing concern, but we've been given no sense at this point by officials that they are looking at that as a possibility down in tennessee. i think, wolf, before they send the president out to make a statement, which i suspect they will do at some point, that they will definitely want all of that information set before sending him out there. >> i suspect it won't take long for the fbi and others to find out a whoa load about mohammod

you-ssuf abdulazeez. gina mule tell us what you saw. >> well, i told my story tons of times today, and it's just still not even real. actually what happened i was in the kitchen, doing my prep for the day, i heard tons -- i didn't know they were gunshots at first. i hear tons of noises and when i looked out, i had seen the advice with a newer -- no it is a mustang, no top, a convertible. i didn't see the guy's face at all from the angle where i was standing. i can't just see his arms out of the window holding a high-powered rifle. he was shooting into the businesses. i just sat there in watch.

i was in shock at how many times he fired. it was numerous times. 20 30 shots. >> could you tell what kind of weapon he had? >> i have no idea about any kind of guns. i just know it juan rapid fire. it was just pow pow polyw, a big old rifle. >> you didn't see his face no? >> i didn't see anything but his arms and the gun. then once i seen the gun, my attention pretty much was focused on the gun the whole time. >> what did you do? were you frozen? what did you do? >> yeah um i -- i remember going through -- what was going through my head i was like is this real is this a real gun? what is going on? is this happening? after he pulled off, several people from the businesses right next door we went over to help. thankfully everybody made it out. we opened up the doors and was calling, is everybody okay?

and there was just debris just stuff in in the air in the office. we're just very blessed that nobody got hurt. >> i know there was fatalities at the other location. it's just crazy. >> as i want where you work at a restaurant right next door to the military recruitment center. do they have any security there at all? do you see any protection for the u.s. military? >> well no no. they're just you know just in their offices doing their jobs. people come in sign up for the military stuff like that. there's not any armed guards or anything like that. >> so just like a regular retail shop at. >> yes, several offices lined up one after the office you have the national guard, the air force, the army the marines, the navy and i know that three

of the separate officers were fired on. i know the air force, marines and navy all of the doors were fired into. >> gina are you okay? >> yeah i'm fine. >> well good luck to you. thanks so much for sharing your eyewitness account. also joining us is congressman chuck fleischman he represents that chattanooga district in the u.s. house of representatives. thanks very much for joining us. what can you tell us about the shooter mohammod youssuf abdulazeez. >> i was on the house floor when i heard about it and if the word has just gotten worse. apparently it was a single shooter. we have lost four brave marines this is a drank did i.

the news is starting to unfold. we're seeing great cooperation between local, state and federal law enforcement officials, but my mood right snow is one of sadness. we need to find out more about what this person was doing, why they did it and get to the bottom of this. for something like this wolf to happen right here in my hometown of chattanooga, tennessee, it makes me ill. >> have they given you -- the authorities, it is investigators, any indication what possibly could have been the shooter's motivations? >> right now it's an investigation under way. i it tell you this. there are several people coming to chattanooga, state, federal, local officials all working together to put this into some discernible information. right now we just don't know. i want to ask the american

people to please pray for the victims, for their families to have something of this magnitude happen i'm still in shock, wolf. i see you at the airport all the time at reagan. i was so upset at reagan. i dropped my book. it went all over is the place. i just want to try to comfort the families and the people right now, but we've got to get to the bottom of this. we have to make america safe again. >> you think it's time to rethink security around these military facilities at these shopping centers? for example i understand them to make it access soibl for young men and women to have an opportunity to speak to some of these recruiters? maybe they should tighten up the security. >> we're going to have to look at everything. some of these recruiters have come to many of our events at armed forces day. we know these wonderful men and women who serve our country and who take people in. there have been two locations

obviously involved in chattanooga, one is the recruiting facility behind me. there was another facility. this is a horrible heinous act. it cannot be tolerated, but we're going to have to take a look at security all across this nation. we live in a dang are you world. sadly this is not the world i grew up in. sadly it's the world that my children and my grandchildren will have to grow up in someday, and we have got to make america safe. >> one final question congressman. the authorities you have spoken to are they absolutely certain that only one shooter was involved? >> i have not heard that so i can't confirm odie nigh that. i know they have identified one shooter, they've announced who that was, they are in a full-fledged investigation. they will be thorough. you can be assured of this. i have spoken to federal officials, i've spoken to the navy. i've spoken to law enforcement. there's an all-out pushing to all the information out so that

we find out what caused this and why, and i hope and pray this never happens against anywhere in these great united states. >> we'll take in close touch, chuck fleischmann, thanks very much for joins us. he's now been formally identified as the shooter. there are varied spelling. the spelling that we're using you see on the screen that's the official spelling that was released by the fbi, the fbi statement, so we're going to go with that spelling mohammod ussuf abdulazeez. much more on the breaking news we're going live to the pentagon facing new serious questions about securities at these military recruit innocent centers. much more right after this.

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news the shootings at two u.s. facilities in chattanooga, tennessee. four u.s. marines are dead the gunman is dead as well. i want to go back to the white house, jim acosta is getting word we are get ready to hear from the president? >> reporter: that's right. we'll hear from the president in the on the floor office within the next few minutes.

the reporting pool here in the white house has gotten into the on the floor office. not the full contingent so we should know very carrie. it won't be a live statement, wolf but within minutes, we do expect to have that tape to play for you of the president and his remarks on these shootings down in tennessee. as we've been saying over the last half hour he has been briefed on the shootings, he is getting constant updates. the white house has yet to say whether or not there is some sort of connection to any kind of terrorist activity. that sort of definitive statement has not come out of white house, but we hope to have more information. i should point out that joe biden was at an event, really targeting young progressive groups and gun control was on the agenda. the vice president made a brief comment about the tennessee shooting saying that his heart goes out to the family. we don't have a further read of

the vice president's -- but again we should have more information within the next few minutes. >> he is the commander in chief, totally appropriate for him to make a statement. four united states marine shot and killed in chattanooga today. stand by. we'll share that tape with our viewers. in the meantime you want to go to barbara starr, she's working her sources at the pentagon. what are you learning? >> wolf defense secretary ash carter additional pentagon leadership briefed on this situation throughout the day. at this point, the procedures are kicking into place to help the families of the four dead marines, it is four murdered marines the typical procedure is sending out lay 'son assistance officers to help through the next difficult days and weeks. these are the same procedures that would be used as if these marines fell in battle in iraq

or afghanistan. this is as if they were killed in combat. when you look at the video, especially of the shopping mall where the recruiting center was, a lot of people may have questions about lack of security. this is something the military is struggling with. a recruiting center like this is part of the community. they want young people to feel comfortable to come in talk to a recruiter, talk about having a mig tear career so security is not what it would be at ft. bragg, ft. hood. this is not a big military facilities, where the four marines were killed at the other site, also not a major facility for the united states military. there's stepped-up security make no mistake about that but very difficult to do in some of these community areas, because it has to be remembered in this

country, the u.s. military is part of the community, part of the community family. so you're going to see a lot of questions about where was the security? what is the appropriate level of security in american towns and cities? where the u.s. military lives and works. it's a very difficult problem for the military to deal with. right now the real focus is what federal law enforcement take the lead on this and deal and help those four marine corps families. >> we're only a bit away from hearing from the president of the united states barbara. just moments ago, getting ready for that. but they haven't identified these four marines who were shot and killed have they? >> no wolf. the standard procedure, again as if they were killed in a combat incident in a mass casualty incident the rule around the pentagon is they will be identified 24 hours after the

last and final family is notified. they want to make sure all of the family members who need to be notified are, and then there will be a public statement identifying them. but in today's world of social media, what we have seen so often with the military and with incidents across the country sadly is there are social media postings from family and friends, they come out, they talk to local television and news media affiliates. they post messages about their loved once on various social media accounts. i would expect that in the coming hours, and especially with the marine corps. the marine corps is the smallest of the military services. it is a real family. i can guaranty tee you at this hour many marines across the corps know exactly who these young marines are, exactly who was gunned down by this attack er i think it's a matter of as

these names being gin to more informally merge allyally emerge. >> we don't know if all four were men or if women were involved as well. >> we just don't, wolf. a facility like this one, which was a support center for the -- you get officers young enlisted there may have been navy as well marine corps people there, though we do know that it is four united states marines who were gund down. one other detail is the pentagon tells us they have been told by federal law enforcement the gunman never set foot on federal property. so we know that from the recruiting center it was at a shopping mall he shot through the door. this could indicate that at the sect site where the marines were killed the gunman stayed

essentially outside the fence line and shot from public property. the marines may never have known, we don't know they may never have seen the gunman coming at them. here is the president of the united states in the oval office. >> tell me when everything is ready. i just received a briefing from fbi director comey as well as my white house team about the tragic shooting that took place in chattanooga today. we don't know yet all the details. we know that what happens to be a lone gunman carried out these attacks. we have identified a name. at this point a full investigation is taking place. the fbi will be in the lead working closely with local law enforcement. we also have been in contact with the department of defense, to make sure that all our defense facilities are properly

tannive and vigilant as we sort through exactly what happened. and as details of the investigation proceed, we'll make sure that the fbi as well as local law enforcementer providing the public with all the information that's involved. my main message right now is obviously the deepest sympathies of the american people to the four marines who have been killed. it is a heartbreaking circumstance for these individuals who have served our country with great valor to be killed in this fashion. and although the families are still in the process of being contacted, i want them to know that i speak for the american people in expressing our deepest

condolences, and knowing that they have our full support as they try to overcome the grief that's involved here. i also want to say that there are reports of injuries to chattanooga local law enforcement officials. thankfully as far as we know at this point, they have survived the assault, and we want to make sure that they know that we're thinking of them. they're in our thoughts and prayers. you know we take all shootings very seriously. obviously when you have an attack on a u.s. military facility then we have to make sure that we have all the information necessary to make an assessment in terms of how this attack took place and what further precautions we can take

in the future. as we have more information, we'll let the public know but in the meantime i would ask all americans to pray for the families who are grief stricken at this point, and i want everybody to understand we will be thorough and prompt in figuring out exactly what happened. thank you very much. thank you. the president of the united states inviting reporters and photographers into the oval office moments ago to make that statement. the president saying it appears to be a lone gunman the fib will be the lead investigator in this entire shooting rampage, the u.s. military will be taken properly attentive and vigilant steps to make sure u.s. military personnel are four u.s. marines shot and killed in this attack today in chattanooga, mohammod

youssuf abe abu seals, who was himself shot by law enforcement, we are learning more about this individual born in 1990. 24 years old. we'll take a quick break and share what we are learns with you, when we come back. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.

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1990. he also is dead. drew griffin is working the story for us. tell our viewers what you are finding out. >> reporter: this is the naval operations center the marine reserve center. that building right over my right shoulder. you can see the top of it. this is where it all ended, where the suspect was killed and unfortunately where the four marines were killed. as we go to area video, you can actually see what we believe to be the suspect's car, the mustang in the center of the approach to this building. unfortunately the police and the fbi have been very cautious given out any kind of details, so we can't tell you exactly what chain of event took place here but from barbara starr's reporting, we've heard this suspect was not ability to get on to any kind of federal property. that would make us assume that whatever shootout there was happened very close to that car, since it was out in the parking lot area.

but again, this is a massive undertaking is going on the frensive evidence being collected, and the investigation more or less beginning with where this whole crime ended. wolf? >> do we know the circumstances, drew surrounding the death of the shooter? >> reporter: we don't. i can tell you that just approaching anybody here they don't want to talk about it they don't want to give any details. this is a tightly run operation by the fbi but we don't see any evidence that there are any bodies around that car, wolf. we can't see where the bodies might be assuming they're still here or where the evidence might be collected from a body. so we can't tell you that. i wish i could, but we just can't tell you the scenario for how or where these marines were when they were shot. >> drew griffin doing his work there on the scene for us. we'll get back very quickly.

tom fuentes, the whole notion surrounding his death, we don't know whether he was shot by law enforcement or whether he wound up killing himself. >> no we'll tell that when they want to but we don't know it yet. we don't know. we heard that the police had chased him possibly from the first shooting site to the second. if that's true and they were right behind him, maybe the police shot him. maybe after he finished shooting, maybe he shot himself. we just don't know. >> one of things that happens in these cases is they have to look at the gunshot and see whether or not it was from law enforcement. i'm sure at this moment in the chaos of that moment it probably isn't clear. it's not necessarily readily know whether it was a bullet from a law enforcement officer. i'm sure they didn't have time to do that right now. right now the focus is trying to figure out what his motivation, whether or not there was something missed here that they should have known. this is a major thing now we are

looking at you know after all the warnings we've had about the possible danger to military facilities around the country, that this one off the radar happens -- >> this was right in the shopping the strip centers, obviously very vulnerable. guys stand by. much more on the breaking news coming up. the latest in a line of attacks on u.s. military facilities. do recruiting center as across the united states need more protect? developing some of the highest quality, clinically proven nutrition isn't easy so at gnc, why do we do it? why do we include key ingredients found in fruits and vegetables to create the world's best multivitamin programs? why do we do over 150 quality checks before putting them on the shelf? well, here's why... ♪ ♪ celebrating 80 years of quality life and quality products. and we're just getting started. gnc.

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we're following the breaking news today's shootings at a pair of military offices in

chattanooga. a gunman sprayed bullets, then attacked a reserve center several miles away. the gunman is also dead. this isn't the first time u.s. military recruiting centers in the united states have become targets. let's get more from brian todd who's working this part of the story. >> we're learning new details about the two centers that were targeted and the security situation. the first place his, that's a military recruiting center in a strip mall. it is shared by all four major branches of the military. that store the second place, seven miles away is an operational support system. it provides training and readiness support for the reservists. all four marines were killed at that facility in this area over here we believe, but a navy official tells us tonight it is not clear if those marines were

killed inside or outside the facility. it's looking like lie they were probably killed outside. those facilities typically have gates and barriers. it's clear from the pictures here, this place at the very least had a fence. the gunman you can see with the images appears -- appears, wolf to possibly have breached that fence. this official is also not sure if this place had armed security personnel roaming around at the time of the attack about you he did say you just cannot walk in they're usually marked with some kind of signage. the other place not security either? >> that's right. we'll go back to images. a responseman from the recruiting command said these are often storefront facilities. very open.

sometimes they are in malls. he said there are no barriers no gates, and said according to u.s. army policy weapons are prohibited on these premises. if you go in a bit tighter here no weapons allowed. conservative group which supports military member this group is called move america forward, has been calling for more security at those recruit recruiting centers for years. as a response to that i contacted an armed recruiting spokesperson spokesperson and here's what he had to say. >> the recruiting >> the army recruiting center is the army within the community. if young men and women want to talk with us we need a welcoming area. you know barricades barriers and built like a fortress is not really an inviting atmosphere. >> brian lepley does saying for this incident there will likely be an after action review on security at all these recruiting centers, these more open places and we'll see if that policy changes, wolf. >> there is a history, brian, of

attacks at these u.s. military recruiting centers. >> that's right, wolf not too long alone. in 2009 abdul hakeem mohammed opened fire in little rock arkansas. that killed one soldier and wounded another. he pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence. before that in 2008 a bomb was placed in front of a u.s. armed forces recruiting station in times square in the heart of manhattan. no one was injured when that bomb went off. that case was not solved. there was surveillance video of the bomber riding a bicycle approaching the recruiting center. just to illustrate how open these places are. also in 2010 there was a series of drive-by shootings often in the middle of the night at military recruiting centers right near where we are in washington, d.c. no one was hurt in those incidents. a marine cancer reservist was arrested for those shootings and sentenced to 25 years. as this video illustrates, these places are wide open. we'll look to see if those policies change in the weeks, months and years ahead, wolf. >> thanks very much.

i want to continue to cover the breaking news. tom fuentes, we have now learned that when the president made that statement in the oval office and we played it for our viewers just moments ago, the president opened by saying he just received a briefing from the fbi director james comey. he was actually in the oval office with the president at the time the president spoke. this is obviously a big deal if the fbi director is summoned to come over to the white house and brief the president. >> well if in fact that he was summoned. there may have been other business that they were discussing because there's so many of these cases of terrorism around the country, around the world, that the director would be briefing the president on you know a number of situations. maybe it was another meeting that he was already there. maybe he did go over there, and that's not uncommon for the director to go directly to the white house to brief the president. >> four u.s. marines shot and killed that's obviously a major, major, unfortunately tragic development. matthew horace is joining us as well as a former atf special

agent in charge. walk us through this situation. what's going on? >> there are so many pieces to this investigation. we have the scene investigation, the investigation of the vehicle, the type of firearm that was used where that firearm came from. there's the collateral fbi investigation into forensics. what we can find on social media, what's in his or her computer what's at the residence where they were before this happened. who they were dealing with who they were talking to. all of that and more has to be brought together and pieced together like a puzzle to try to determine why this happened. >> paul crookshank you're our cnn terrorism analyst. the shooter in this particular case is dead. we don't know whether he killed himself or whether he was shot by law enforcement. a lot of reports out there. mohammod youssuf abdulazeez born in 1990. what are you learning about him? >> i think we have to be very very careful about ascribing motive at this point. clearly there's a particular threat environment. isis called for a surge in terrorism during ramadan.

today is the last day of ramadan. >> ramadan, the muslim holy month. >> the muslim holy month that ends at sunset tonight. so there's been a lot of concern that that could be isis-inspired plots in the united states concern around the july 4 holiday. there's also an accelerating number of americans getting involved in isis-inspired plots in the united states. 15 americans getting involved in those plots, allegedly since march. so all of that adds to the threat environment. clearly we don't know yet whether this was indeed a case of islamist terrorism. >> we're also now learning from a law enforcement source that the car that this individual mohammod youssuf abdulazeez was driving, a silver mustang convertible, was a rental car. >> a rental car, wolf. >> and obviously not cheap to renting a silver mustang convertible. >> right. we don't know exactly again what this means as far as his motivation. was this so that it would be perhaps be harder for them to

figure out who he was if he was planning to try to get away or was this just for convenience, frankly, because bringing down the top of the car as he had allowed him easy access for him to be able to fire the weapon at these two centers where he shot these marines and these members of the military. so again, we don't know why it is that he chose this car. perhaps he had another car available to him that was not as convenient, did not allow for him to be able to aim and fire his weapon as we know the witnesses said it was a long black gun, probably a semiautomatic. there's a lot of those on the market so we don't know again. that's what the fbi and atf are trying to figure out at this point. >> and we're now just learning from pamela brown action our justice correspondent, that the joint terrorism task force, the federal agency is now directly involved and they are investigating this formally now as a terror investigation. much more right after the break.

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happening now, breaking news. act of terror. four u.s. marines are killed in a shooting rampage targeting two u.s. military recruitment centers in tennessee. witnesses say dozens of shots were fired with a high-powered rifle. tonight, the u.s. department of homeland security is responding to concerns this might be a case of domestic terror. gunman identified. we're learning more about the shooter and how he was killed as investigators now scramble to try to determine a motive.

does he have any links to islamic extremists? we're working our sources this hour. and movie massacre verdict. a jury is about to reveal whether the mass shooting in a colorado theater was an act of murder or madness. the admitted gunman james holmes will quickly learn his fate in just a matter of minutes. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." the breaking news tonight, u.s. military personnel brutally brazenly targeted in a deadly shooting rampage. and tonight, some federal facilities are on a heightened state of alert. we're told the fbi now considers this to be a terrorism investigation. four u.s. marines were killed in attacks on two u.s. navy recruitment centers in tennessee. the gunman also is dead. the fbi says he's been identified as mohammod youssuf abdulazeez. president obama says the u.s.