CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee — Lance Cpl. Squire “Skip” Wells, three other Marines and a sailor, were killed by Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, who opened fire Thursday on two military facilities before being shot dead by police.
Wells’ girlfriend, Caroline Dove, was texting him as the horrific terror attack unfolded.
As the two were texting, Wells wrote “ACTIVE SHOOTER.” Thinking he was joking around, she replied “You are so weird.”
After hours of not hearing from Wells, Dove wrote “I love you” … And then “Hon, I need you to answer me please.”
From Fox News: Wells and Dove met at Georgia Southern University, but Wells soon enlisted in the armed forces.
Through tears, Dove remembered her boyfriend’s love of flag football and Nerf guns, his passion for U.S. history, his ability to handle her when she was grouchy and how good he was at listening.
He dreamed of being a drill sergeant, and when they last saw each other around Valentine’s Day, he gave her a gold-and-silver ring. When the time came to propose, she said, he knew to ask her parents first.”
Thursday’s shooting spree began at a strip mall when Abdulazeez opened fire on a military recruiting center.
Over the next half hour, the gunman, a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, drove his rental car to the Navy operational support center seven miles away, a law enforcement official said.
Police Chief Fred Fletcher told CNN that police followed and engaged Abdulazeez somewhere on the road after that, then again at the second site. He said authorities are still trying to determine whether police saw him ram the gates of the center, get into the facility and shoot and kill the four Marines.
Abdulazeez kept police at bay for some time before himself being killed.
“All indications are he was killed by fire from the Chattanooga police officers,” Reinhold told reporters. “We have no evidence he was killed by self-inflicted wounds.”
Photo source: AP/Fox News
