The recent shooting in San Bernardino last week has already been declared as an act of terrorism by the FBI. However, the FBI has yet to confirm or deny whether the shooting in Chattanooga, Tenn., which resulted in the deaths of four Marines and one sailor back in July, is terrorism.

Why has it taken so long for the FBI to decide whether or not Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez’s rampage through a military recruitment center is connected to a terrorist organization? Investigators uncovered Abdulazeez’s blog posts celebrating jihad shortly after the July 16 shooting. Al Qaeda even created a video praising Abdulazeez’s actions and took some indirect credit for the massacre. Despite these connections, the FBI remains tight-lipped on the investigation and has refused to officially brand the mass shooting as a terrorist attack.

Here’s the latest statement from FBI Director James Comey on the matter, which was released on Nov. 13.

Sometimes the way we investigate requires us to keep information secret. That’s a good thing. We don’t want to smear people.

We’re still trying to make sure we understand Abdulazeez, his motivations and associations, in a really good way.

The FBI’s reluctance to publicly label the attack is the sole reason the servicemen who died trying to stop Abdulazeez or help others have not been awarded Purple Hearts. Due to the medal’s strict eligibility standards, none of the five servicemen can quality for the award unless Abdulazeez’s attack is called terrorism.