July 18--REPORTING FROM CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- A wounded U.S. Navy sailor died on Saturday, bringing the toll to five service members killed in last week's attacks on military centers in Chattanooga, the Navy announced.
The military did not name the latest victim, but family members have previously said that Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, 26, was among the injured and was in critical condition.
Smith had lived in Paulding County, Ohio, before joining the service. Ohio Gov. John Kasich tweeted his condolences on Saturday.
Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire at two military-related locations in Chattanooga on Thursday, shooting seven people in what officials are investigating as a terrorist attack. Abdulazeez was killed during a firefight with police at the Navy Operational Support Center.
According to the Navy statement, "a male Navy petty officer succumbed to wounds" at 2:17 a.m. EDT on Saturday.
In addition to Smith, four Marines were killed in Thursday's attack.
They are: Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells of Cobb, Ga., Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan of Hampden, Mass., Sgt. Carson Holmquist of Polk, Wis., and Staff Sgt. David Wyatt of Burke, N.C.
The two surviving wounded are an unidentified Marine recruiter, who was shot in the leg, and Chattanooga police Officer Dennis Pedigo, who was shot in the ankle and is listed in stable condition after surgery.
"He is in good spirits," the officer's family said Friday in a statement.
Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the attacks, first on a recruiting station in a strip mall, then on the Navy center about seven miles away. They are concentrating on a trip Abdulazeez took to Jordan and his activities on the Internet. The incident is being investigated as a terrorist attack, but no ties to any foreign extremist groups have been found.
The shootings have increased concerns about security at recruiting facilities which are open to the public and where service personnel are not armed. Military officials have said they are reviewing all security policies.
Meanwhile, local officials in Florida and Texas on Saturday ordered their own steps.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered Florida National Guard recruiters to move from six storefront locations into armories until state officials can re-evaluate and make security improvements, including possibly installing bullet-proof glass or enhanced surveillance equipment. Scott's executive order also calls on National Guard officers to make sure all full-time members of the guard are armed.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he will authorize the his state's National Guard to arm personnel at military facilities.
"It is with a heavy heart that I issue this order," Abbott stated. "After the recent shooting in Chattanooga, it has become clear that our military personnel must have the ability to defend themselves against these type of attacks on our own soil. Arming the National Guard at these bases will not only serve as a deterrent to anyone wishing to do harm to our service men and women, but will enable them to protect those living and working on the base."
The city of Chattanooga is also reeling.
A steady stream of mourners gathered outside the Marine Corps Reserve Center on Saturday morning to pay their respects. Four wooden crosses, with the names of the fallen Marines in black marker pen, stood amid a neat row of U.S. flags, balloons and carnations.
Janelle Branch, 29, a cosmetics associate, wiped away tears as her husband and sons updated the memorial, positioning five American flags on the grassy bank of the four-lane highway.
"It's just so sad, so senseless," she said.
Kenneth Rush, 48, a former Marine from Odessa, Texas, took a 200-mile detour to Chattanooga while traveling back home from visiting his son in North Carolina.
"What's 200 miles when five lives are sacrificed?" he said. "It's five of my brothers down here."
On Friday night, a diverse crowd of more than 600 people -- some in military uniforms, others in hijabs -- packed the wooden pews of Olivet Baptist Church on Friday evening for an interfaith memorial service.
All who took to the wooden pulpit, including Baptist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim, spoke of unity. Residents of Chattanooga, they said, would not be divided by the attacks.
"Even though it seems like we're going through our worst time, we believe that you will transform it into our finest hour," Olivet's senior pastor, Kevin Adams, said to God in prayer. "We thank you that the people of God have come together and we will pray like we have never prayed before .... Love will always outdo evil."
A string of elected officials -- including Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and the state's U.S. senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander -- spoke at the service, many quoting Scriptures. Haslam referred to Jeremiah, saying he prayed that Chattanooga "would be a city that answers hate with love."
"The sense of violation that we all feel today cannot be healed individually," Berke said. "The pain can only be healed as a community."
"In the name of God -- God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed -- it is not easy for me to speak after a loss so tragic," said one of the final speakers, Dr. Mohsin Ali, a board member of the Islamic Center of Greater Chattanooga. "For inspiration, I look to the Marines who laid down their lives yesterday."
Ali, a psychiatrist who was born in Pakistan, contrasted the bravery of the Marines and police officers who risked their lives to the "cruel and cowardly" actions of "the murderer."
He urged all Muslims in the round wood-paneled Baptist church who "pledge your allegiance to this city and this country, to this community" to stand up and be recognized.
More than a hundred Muslims stood -- some wiping away tears -- as the crowd cheered.
The ceremony, which began with the call of "We are Chattanooga strong!", ended with the congregation linking hands and the Olivet Baptist Church gospel choir, dressed in long purple robes, swaying and clapping hands as they sang "Let It Shine."
"We thank you for bringing all different races and different religions together, father God," the Rev. Ron Cook, pastor of Rock Island Baptist Church, cried in prayer. "Thank you, this is something we haven't done for a while -- you brought us all to one place to seek your wisdom."
Times correspondent Jarvie reported from Chattanooga and staff writer Muskal from Los Angeles.
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UPDATE
10:30 a.m.: This post has been updated with details of security actions in Florida and Texas.
8:48 a.m.: This post has been updated with new details throughout.
This post was originally published at 5:30 a.m.
