A 22-year-old Hawaii Marine remains in custody in the brig on Ford Island after he was stopped at Offutt Air Force Base in his home state of Nebraska trying to bring in two semi-automatic rifles, a pistol, a silencer, body armor and ammunition, according to officials and news reports.
Pvt. First Class Ali J.
Al-Kazahg, attached to the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, was apprehended by Air Force Military Police at
Offutt on May 31.
He was transported by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to Hawaii, his home station, and was placed in pretrial confinement at Naval Brig Pearl Harbor “pending resolution of the case,” Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Eric Abrams said in an email Tuesday.
“As official charges have not yet been served, we are unable to provide additional details at this time,” Abrams said.
Al-Kazahg was stopped at the base gate after a “be on the lookout” bulletin was issued a week earlier by the Nebraska Information and Analysis Center, which monitors security threats, according to The (Omaha) World-Herald.
The bulletin stated that Al-Kazahg had told another Marine that he would “shoot up the battalion, starting at the barracks” if he received discipline for unspecified misconduct, the newspaper said. It’s not clear what barracks was referenced.
In a post on U.S. Strategic Command’s internal computer network, chief of staff Maj. Gen. Daniel Karbler said, “This service member was out to hurt people. Thank a security defender next time you come through the gate,” the newspaper reported.
Al-Kazahg, who was on leave, had previously made “suspicious statements” and placed an online order for body armor, magazines, firearm parts, holsters and medical supplies to be shipped to a Nebraska address, The World-Herald quoted NCIS as saying in the bulletin.
Al-Kazahg is a landing support specialist with Combat Logistics Battalion 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group. He joined the Marine Corps in 2017.
His service record shows a deployment to Thailand for the exercise Cobra Gold Jan. 9-16. He has been stationed at Kaneohe Bay since 2018.
“The Marine Corps takes every accusation against its Marines seriously and holds them accountable to our core values of honor, courage, and commitment,” Abrams said.
