Local Military Recruiters Stepping up Security in Wake of Chattanooga Attack

The F.B.I. continues to investigate the shootings at two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The gunman, officials say, first shot up a U.S. Marine Corps recruiting office, in a strip mall, before moving on to the second military location. There, he killed four Marines before he was shot and killed too.

The U.S. Marine Corps would not comment to FOX 7 on how they're instructing local branches to step up security, but, it's clear they are on high alert. Blinds were open at the Marine Corps recruiting office in the Southpark Meadows U.S. Armed Forces Career Center. But, the doors were locked. They let us in after we showed our I.D.'s. Though no one was authorized to speak in their official capacity, they did tell us they are waiting for further instruction on how they'll handle security moving forward.

They also told FOX 7, that it is customary to lock their doors and require I.D. in situations like this.

"It's a different world and they're going to have to start treating them like jewelry stores where you can't just walk in, you have to be buzzed in," says Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo talking about the steps they should consider taking. "We've worked with the military in terms of training in the past," he adds. And though he says, the security measures at local recruiting offices will likely come from the Department of Defense, the Austin Police Department is there to assist.

Authorities say they are confident that the shootings were carried out by a lone gunman. Something that Acevedo says is always a concern here in Austin. Especially as he's seen his share over the past few years.

"Joseph Stack flying his airplane into the I.R.S. building or Mr. McWilliams shooting up our Police station or the active shooter in the Omni, these are the times we live in."

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tennessee, says they'll investigate the Chattanooga shootings as an "act of domestic terrorism" though it's not clear what that man's motive was.

"It doesn't matter what there political motives are. Whether they're Middle Eastern or right wing or left wing, the outcomes are all the same, people that are willing to hurt others," says Acevedo.

And Austin continues to grow, Acevedo says, so must the awareness of its residents. "We can't live in fear but we have to be smart, vigilant and we have to take public security, personal security and national security seriously."

Seriously enough to be on alert even in places where it seems our military wouldn't come under attack.