Army tells recruiters to consider armed civilians a security threat

U.S. Army recruiters are being warned about armed civilians gathering around their centers, following the shooting last week in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that killed four Marines and one sailor.

The shooter, Mohammad Abdulazeez, fired into the front of a recruiting station, but there were no casualties; the five service members were killed when he targeted the Navy Operational Support Center. In a letter, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command said soldiers need to consider anyone standing outside their recruiting center offering protection a security threat, and immediately call law enforcement and the command. The letter stated that the citizens likely "mean well, but we cannot assume this in every case and we do not want to advocate this behavior," Stars and Stripes reports.

Armed civilians have been gathering outside of recruiting centers in Wisconsin, Georgia, Idaho, and Tennessee, saying they want to provide protection to the service members because they cannot carry firearms while on duty. Kelli Bland, a spokeswoman for Army Recruiting Command, said the concerned citizens can help in other ways. "Local communities can support our security by reporting suspicious activity, particularly around recruiting centers," she said.

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