Lieutenant Commander Timothy White of the United States Navy has not been charged under any punitive article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for discharging his weapon at the scene of the Chattanooga shooting, according to a Navy news desk source.
"We have not charged him. We can’t speculate as to whether or not he will be charged because there is an investigation ongoing for the entire incident," Lt. Junior Grade Johnny Michael told the Washington Free Beacon.
"At this point [we] can say definitively that he has not been charged."
The federal investigation into the shooting and its links to domestic terrorism is ongoing and would have to be resolved before any charge against Lt. Cmdr. White would be considered.
Reports circulated following comments from former congressman and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Allen West, who cited an unnamed source, that the U.S. Navy is "bringing charges against Lt. Cmdr. Timothy White for illegally discharging a firearm on federal property."
Several military officials with knowledge of the internal investigation reported that White, the commanding officer for the Navy Operational Support Center, likely fired his personal weapon at alleged shooter Mohammed Youssef Abdulazeez during the attack on the recruitment center on July 16.
The five servicemen killed in the incident were Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, Lance Cpl. Squire Wells, and Navy petty officer second class Randall Smith.
The attack sparked a national conversation on whether members of the U.S. Armed Forces should be armed while working in recruitment centers nationwide.