The attack at a Navy Reserve facility in Chattanooga was inspired by terrorist propaganda, FBI officials have now said.
According to CBS affiliate WDEF, FBI Director James Comey said the incident was "inspired by terrorist organization propaganda.”
Wednesday marked the first time officials have linked the incident to terrorism.
It took about two days for the FBI to announce it was investigating the attack in San Bernardino, California, as an act of terror. Fourteen people were killed in the rampage.
For months, authorities carefully avoided using the same wording about Mohammad Abdulazeez, the Kuwaiti-born gunman behind the killing of five military personnel five months ago in Chattanooga.
According to CBS News, Abdulazeez had traveled to Kuwait and Jordan prior to the shooting.
Labeling Chattanooga a terror attack would make its victims eligible for the Purple Heart. That in turn would entitle their survivors to additional payments and benefits.
