The killing of four US Marines yesterday at a US military recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has the FBI puzzled.

Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, was shot dead by police after he attacked a military recruitment centre and a naval reserve centre in Chattanooga.

Local prosecutors are investigating the attacks – in which three people were also injured – as “domestic terrorism”.

However, the FBI says Abdulazeez’s motive is unclear.

A police officer and a marine corps recruiter were wounded, along with a female sailor who remains in a serious condition in hospital.

It seems that no one can figure out why Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez would have done this

Abdulazeez was born in 1990 in Kuwait, and he was a naturalized U.S. citizen. He lived with his parents, and his father is a Chattanooga city employee.

Abdulazeez was not under FBI surveillance and was not on any watch list, officials said. However, his father, who is from the Palestinian territories, was briefly investigated several years ago for possible connections to a terror organization. But that investigation was closed, and the father was removed from government watch lists, the officials said.

Al Jazeera was left shaking its head

A U.S. official told the Associated Press that there was no indication Abdulazeez was on the radar of federal law enforcement before the shootings. The official was not authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

At a news conference late Thursday, Edward Reinhold, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Knoxville, Tennessee, division, said investigators had found nothing that tied the suspect to ISIL or any other armed group. A federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press on Friday that authorities are continuing to search Abdulazeez’s computer for evidence pointing at any connection to international armed groups.

Even Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez’s trip to the Middle East offers no clues:

Abdulazeez also once trained as a fighter under coach Almir Dizdarevic. They also knew each other from mosques they attended, even after the training relationship ended. They would bump into each other and chat, or Dizdarevic would speak with his family.

He had heard his former athlete moved to the Middle East a year or so ago.

“He went back home and he stayed overseas,” Dizdarevic said. “And I asked his dad about, you know, where’s Mohammad? I haven’t seen him in a while, and he said, ‘He moved back home.’ “

Not even his name provided the vaguest clue as to the motive. Hell, CNN isn’t even sure what his name means:

On Thursday’s The Lead, CNN analyst Tom Fuentes was unwilling to conclude that the perpetrator of a mass shooting against servicemen in Chattanooga, Tennessee was Muslim. John Berman asked the former FBI assistant director, “Now that we have the name [Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez], the key questions are what?” Fuentes replied, “I know…what the name sounds like, but we don’t know that it’s a Muslim name. We know it’s an Arabic name. We don’t know what this individual was believing in, and that’s what they’re going to be trying to determine.”

The fact that the guys who shot up a military recruiting center was not a white guy waving a Confederate battle flag has eliminated all the easy answers. This type of thing has never happened before;

2011: Jihadist Muhammad Yusuf caught by NYPD building pipe bomb to kill cops & U.S. soldiers. pic.twitter.com/1zh7dD0NkX

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 17, 2015

2011: Seattle jihadists Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif & Walli Mujahidh plot to attack Seattle military processing station. pic.twitter.com/gzCDOj0ZEl — Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 17, 2015

2011: Jihadist Pvt. Naser Jason Abdo, inspired by Nidal Hasan, plots to attack soldiers near Ft. Campbell. pic.twitter.com/CtrtAdDboT

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 17, 2015

2010-11: Muslim Marine jihadist Jonathan Melaku shoots at Marine Corps Museum, Pentagon & 2 recruiting stations pic.twitter.com/sQSiijtNY7 — Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 17, 2015

2010: Jihadist Muhammad Hussain plots to blow up Army office: “Whoever joins the military, they will be killed.” pic.twitter.com/hwbzZBEv9u

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 17, 2015

2009: Jihadist Nidal Hasan attacks Fort Hood, kills 13 U.S. service members & 1 unborn baby. pic.twitter.com/XjqZ6ae9a3 — Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 17, 2015

2009: Jihadist Abdulhakim Muhammad attacks Little Rock milit recruitment ctr, kills Pvt Long, wounds Pvt Ezeagwula. pic.twitter.com/4hchIXmkSx

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 17, 2015

But Obama is on the case. Yesterday he issued this statement:

Michelle and I would like to extend our warmest wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr. As Muslims mark the end of the month, they are reminded that Ramadan is a time to reflect spiritually, build communally, and aid those in need. While Eid marks the end of Ramadan, it marks a new beginning for each individual – a reason to celebrate and express gratitude on this holiday.

I suppose we will find out eventually if there is a terrorism connection or if this, like Fort Hood, is merely another unfortunate case of workplace violence. Just remember:  

“Ideologies are not defeated with guns, they’re defeated by better ideas” —@POTUS on countering violent extremism http://t.co/2q0Xm3sqaN

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 6, 2015

We can only hope that pulling your head out of your ass qualifies as a ‘better idea.’