Allen West, Jim Webb Say Timothy White Faces Gun Charges Over Chattanooga Shooting – U.S. Navy Responds

Former U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Allen West is claiming that Lieutenant Commander Timothy White, commanding officer of the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga, is going to be brought up on formal charges by the U.S. Navy for using his personal gun to defend himself and other soldiers against Mohammad Abdulazeez during the Chattanooga shooting. 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Jim Webb is also claiming this allegation is true, but now the U.S. Navy has released a response via Facebook.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, U.S. Navy officer Timothy White has fully admitted to discharging an unauthorized weapon on federal property in self defense.

“What he did there was a very brave thing,” said Michael Seewald, a friend of White’s. “It would be so easy for somebody to just try to get away and escape, but he tried to defend the people there. I’m not sure that was in the protocol for what they were supposed to be doing, but I think he felt he had a responsibility to protect his people.”

Unfortunately, it turns out that defending against the mass shooter may have been illegal based on gun control laws, since the Department of Defense regulations currently limit the usage or carrying of firearms within certain locations to police officers or military police members. While U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has discussed changing these regulations based upon the Chattanooga shooting, Allen West claimed he received confirmation that the U.S. Navy was considering charging White.

“Ladies and gents, resulting from the text message I received yesterday, I can confirm that the United States Navy is bringing charges against Lt. Cmdr Timothy White for illegally discharging a firearm on federal property.”

Allen West is not the only person to make this allegation about the Chattanooga shooting suvivor. Jim Webb is a former Secretary of the U.S. Navy from the Ronald Reagan administration, and on August 2, 2015 he confirmed West’s report by speaking to an unidentified defense official.

“Navy charging LCDR Tim White with a crime for trying to defend our sailors and Marines in Chattanooga? He deserves a medal, not an indictment,” Webb wrote on Twitter. “Before tweeting last night, we confirmed with a defense official that the Navy was seriously considering charging LCDR Timothy White. The charge being considered is illegally discharging a firearm on federal property. No on the record comment was offered.”

These allegations by Allen West and Jim Webb have caused some people on Facebook to broach the topic on the official United States Navy Facebook page. While the U.S. Navy has not officially responded to these allegations with a press release, whoever is maintaining the Facebook page claims the allegations are false.

“Stories of Navy personnel being charged with an offense are not true. There is still a long way to go in reviewing the facts of this tragic incident, but at this time we can confirm no service member has been charged with an offense.”

What do you think?

[Image via Getty Images]