Hafiz Kazi, a 51-year-old legal resident of the U.S., drove a truck filled with propane tanks through a gate at Travis Air Force Base. The truck exploded, killing the driver but injuring no one else.
Despite the obvious possibility that the incident could be related to Islamist terror, authorities are saying there is no “nexus to terrorism at this point.”
However, agents are searching his phones and social media for any possible connections. Kazi apparently lived in the San Francisco area and had worked as a cab driver, Ragan said.
Ragan said a Kia minivan drove through the main gate at the base about 7 p.m. Wednesday. It looked like there were flames inside the vehicle, he said.
The vehicle veered, crashed and started burning, Ragan said. By the time first responders broke through the locked doors, Kazi was dead, Ragan said.
No shots were fired, he said. An autopsy is pending.
Investigators discovered five propane tanks, three phones, gas cans, several lighters and a gym bag inside the car, Ragan said.
“The investigation is ongoing and there are no current known threats to the base or community,” the base said. ” The main gate has reopened and all other facilities are operating as normal.”
I can understand why authorities are reluctant to point the finger at Islamic terrorism since it is early in the investigation and you shouldn’t jump to conclusions based on a guy’s name.
But his name isn’t John Smith. It’s Hafiz Kazi. And while it’s more than possible that Kazi was working alone, we know who and what “inspired” him to kill himself by driving a truck loaded with propane through a gate guarded by armed military personnel. To pretend otherwise is idiotic.
It’s sad when someone tries to kill himself. But it’s outrageous when someone trying to kill himself tried to take others with him for religious reasons.
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