CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The mayor’s office in Springfield, Massachusetts, says one of the Marines killed in Tennessee grew up in the city.
Mayor Dominic Sarno identified the Marine as Sgt. Thomas Sullivan.
Sarno says in a statement that Sullivan’s death is “is a tragic loss not just for the Springfield community but for our entire nation.”
Masslive.com reports that the 40-year-old Sullivan’s family now lives in the nearby community of Hampden.
Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered U.S. and state flags on public buildings in Massachusetts to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the four Marines killed Thursday in Tennessee.
Baker said on Facebook: “God Bless Tom Sullivan and his family and friends.”
Authorities say a 24-year-old, Kuwait-born engineer killed the Marines at two military facilities in Chattanooga. He was shot and killed by police.
The second Marine killed in the attacks in Chattanooga has been identified as Skip Wells, who was from metro Atlanta and in his early 20s.
Family friend Andy Kingery, who is acting as a family spokesman, said a Marine Corps notification team delivered the news to the family Thursday.
The mother was watching news coverage when the team arrived.
He had recently left Atlanta for what was supposed to be a three-week commitment. Kingery was unsure of his rank or the specifics of his job.
He attended Georgia Southern University for about a year but decided to enter the Marine Corps. Kingery says he believes Wells “died doing what he wanted to do and had chosen to do.”
