Terrorism has been ruled out, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation is yet clueless what prompted Indian-American Hafiz Kazi to drive a burning van loaded with propane tanks and gasoline canisters onto a US Air Force base in California.
“Now the question is, why?” Sean Ragan, special agent in charge of the FBI’s field office in Sacramento, said in a news conference on Friday. “Why did this individual end up at the front gate of Travis Air Base, on fire, and now deceased? And we don’t have the answers to that.”
Besides propane tanks and gasoline canisters, Kazi had with him three phones, lighters and a gym bag with several personal items. There was one video on a phone, but it had nothing to do with terrorism.
“We don’t have any nexus to terrorism at this point,” said Ragan.
Investigators have not been able to piece together much information about Kazi, who has been living in the United States of America as a legal permanent resident since 1993. He initially worked as a cab driver, but investigators have not been able to confirm if he held the job at the time of his death. Kazi is also believed to have lived mostly in the San Francisco Bay area, and he does not seem to have any relatives in the US.
Investigators are currently reviewing his social media and emails to find out the motive behind the accident that claimed his life.
Travis Air Force Base is home to 10,000 military personnel. Kazi's van approached the main gate of Travis on Wednesday evening and it veered off and crashed after it went through the initial checkpoint. Although attempts were made to rescue Kazi, the locked doors of the van delayed the process.
Kazi died at the scene.
Kulsuma Aktergetty images