Tennessee shooter failed background check at Ohio nuke plant

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A man who gunned down four Marines in Tennessee and injured a sailor from Ohio briefly worked at a nuclear plant near Cleveland but was let go after failing a background check.

Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was conditionally hired as an engineer at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant and spent 10 days there before he was let go, FirstEnergy Corp. spokesman Todd Schneider said. He would not say why Abdulazeez didn’t pass the screening process in May 2013, saying only that “he did not meet minimum requirements for ongoing employment.”

Abdulazeez underwent general training on company procedures, but his access was limited during his brief employment, Schneider said.

“He worked in an administrative building,” Schneider said. “He was never allowed in the protected area of the plant near the reactor.”

Employees at the plant recognized a photo of Abdulazeez after the shooting and alerted company officials, Schneider said. Abdulazeez, who opened fire on two U.S. military sites in Chattanooga, was killed by police.