MARIETTA, Ga. -- The Cobb County community is mourning the death of a local Marine who died in a shooting at a U.S. Naval reserve center in Chattanooga on Thursday.
Family members confirmed to 11Alive that Lance Cpl. Skip Wells, 21, was among four Marines shot when alleged gunman Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez attacked two military facilities.
Wells attended Sprayberry High School and served in the ROTC. Sharon Greenwell built a memorial for Wells at the school on Friday.
"School is not in session and it's really hard to get them together as a group somewhere safe and where they feel comfortable, so that was our intent," Greenwell said.
Lt. Commander Dennis Wonders of Sprayberry's ROTC taught Wells and said they kept in touch after he graduated in 2012.
"It's the wrong way for a Marine to go," Wonders said. "A Marine is here to serve his country and go into harm's way knowingly, and it's not what you expect going to the parking lot of a reserve center."
Wells had just arrived in Chattanooga for two weeks of artillery training the night before he died.
Friends said Wells volunteered at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Andy Cole worked alongside him.
"We'll be out there in 90 degree-plus weather in wool uniforms and if we needed to do something, he'd jump in with a smile and never once complained," Cole said.
Wells also trained at the park, hiking up the mountain to make sure he was in shape if the call to combat came.
Georgia Southern University said Wells enrolled at the school from 2012 through the fall of 2013. The school issued a statement saying:
The entire Georgia Southern University community is saddened by the news that former student and Marine Skip Wells was killed yesterday in the Chattanooga tragedy along with three fellow Marines. Skip was enrolled as a student from 2012 through fall of 2013.
The Eagle Nation offers our deepest condolences to his family and the families of those killed and wounded during this incident.
Wells entered the service in Feb. 2014, according the military. His family has requested privacy, and had no comment when reached by 11Alive.
A memorial hike is being planned Saturday at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Donations will be collected for Wells' family. It is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Authorities said Abdulazeez opened fire at a Chattanooga recruitment center before moving on to the Naval reserve center, where he killed the four Marines. Abdulazeez was killed in a shootout with police.
Neighbors in Chattanooga and a Facebook post identified another Marine killed as David Wyatt of Chattanooga, according to the Tennessean.
Multiple news outlets reported one of the slain Marines was identified Friday as Thomas Sullivan, 40, originally from Springfield, Massachusetts. Sullivan who grew up in Springfield, survived two tours of duty in Iraq, and earned a Purple Heart.
The India Battery 3rd Battalion 12th Marine Facebook page also posted about Sullivan's passing.
The fourth victim was identified as Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt, of Polk, Wis.
The Marine Corps said Friday that their remains were being sent to Dover, Delaware.
Here are their names and service records, as released by the Marines.
Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan
- Active duty.
- From: Hampden, Massachusetts.
- Entered service: September 1997.
- Occupation: Field artillery cannoneer.
- Deployments: Iraq (September 2007 to April 2008, September 2004 to April 2005).
- Among his decorations was the Purple Heart.
Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt
- Active duty.
- From: Burke, North Carolina.
- Entered service: September 2004.
- Occupation: Field artillery operations man.
- Deployments: Afghanistan (October 2010 to May 2011), Iraq (October 2007 to January 2008).
Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist
- Active duty.
- From: Polk, Wisconsin.
- Entered service: January 2009.
- Occupation: Automotive maintenance technician.
- Deployments: Afghanistan (September 2013 to May 2014).
Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells
- Reservist on active duty operational support.
- Entered service: February 2014.
- From: Cobb County, Georgia.
- Occupation: Field artillery cannoneer.
