Uncle of Chattanooga shooter in custody
Published 10:01 am Wednesday, July 22, 2015
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A maternal uncle who hosted the Chattanooga shooter in Jordan for a few months last year is a businessman with no links to any militant groups, his attorney says.
But a Jordanian official says the uncle is under investigation over the shooter’s time with him there.
Asaad Ibrahim Asaad Haj Ali took in his nephew, the now-deceased Mohamad Youssef Abdulazeez, under a mutual agreement with his parents to help him get away from drugs, alcohol and a group of friends they considered to be a bad influence, according to a person close to his family. The person spoke on condition of anonymity, out of concern it would have business repercussions. Abdulazeez helped Haj Ali in his small cellphone business, according to the uncle’s lawyer, Abed al-Kader Ahmad al-Khateeb.