CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – All four U.S. Marines killed in a shooting rampage in Chattanooga have been identified.
Media reports have indicated that 40-year-old Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, of Massachusetts, Skip Wells, of Georgia, David Wyatt, of Chattanooga, and Carson Holmquist, of North Carolina, were killed.
CBS News Boston has reported that Sullivan, who was a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, served two tours of duty in Iraq and earned a Purple Heart.
Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno said in a statement that Sullivan's death is "is a tragic loss not just for the Springfield community but for our entire nation."
Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered U.S. and state flags on public buildings in Massachusetts to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the four Marines killed Thursday in Tennessee.
Baker said on Facebook: "God Bless Tom Sullivan and his family and friends."
The second Marine killed in the attacks in Chattanooga has been identified as Skip Wells, who was from metro Atlanta and in his early 20s. Family friend Andy Kingery, who is acting as a family spokesman, said a Marine Corps notification team delivered the news to the family Thursday.
The mother was watching news coverage when the team arrived.
He had recently left Atlanta for what was supposed to be a three-week commitment. Kingery was unsure of his rank or the specifics of his job.
He attended Georgia Southern University for about a year but decided to enter the Marine Corps. Kingery says he believes Wells "died doing what he wanted to do and had chosen to do."
Family and friends of one of the Marines slain in Tennessee are planning a memorial service at the high school he attended in metro Atlanta.
A public service for Wells has been planned for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Sprayberry High School in Atlanta where he graduated in 2012.
Wells was texting with his girlfriend in Georgia that morning about her coming to visit when he sent her a final message: "ACTIVE SHOOTER." Funeral arrangements for Wells were still pending.
A second victim in the #Chattanooga shooting has been identified as Skip Wells of Marietta. http://t.co/WBBd5g1xfppic.twitter.com/fimcbIf4Lb
— CBS46 (@cbs46) July 17, 2015
CBS affiliate WDEF in Chattanooga reports the third Marine killed was identified as David Wyatt, of Chattanooga.
The Pentagon listed Wyatt's home as Burke County, North Carolina, but these days he called Chattanooga home.
During his time as a Marine, he'd been deployed three times, including twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan.
An American flag hung outside the Wyatt home, and a deputy from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office guarded the residence Friday.
WDEF confirmed the identity of the fourth marine killed was Carson Holmquist from Jacksonville, North Carolina. He was born and raised in Grantsburg, Wisconsin.
CBS News reported he was so proud of finishing boot camp he went back to his high school dressed in his formal blues.
He was a cornerback on the football team, and the Principal remembered the day he showed up.
Holmquist had two deployments under his belt.
The alleged gunman, identified as 24-year-old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, opened fire at two military facilities Thursday morning. He was shot and killed by police.
Although the exact motive for the shooting has yet to be released, one official called it, "an act of domestic terrorism."
Motive In Deadly Chattanooga Shooting Remains Unknown
The President of the Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga has condemned the shooting and called the act, "cowardly." An interfaith prayer vigil honoring the victims is being held at 5:30 p.m. Friday, at the Mount Olivet Baptist Church in Chattanooga.
A high ranking official confirmed Abdulazeez started work as a shift supervisor at the Superior Essex plant on Southeast Parkway in Franklin a few months prior to the shooting.
(Copyright 2015 by NewsChannel 5 and the Associated Press.)
