6th December, 2019
The gunman who opened fire at a naval base in Florida, killing three people and injuring eight, has been identified as a Saudi aviation student. He was Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.
Authorities are now investigating if the attack at Naval Air Station in Pensacola early Friday morning was terrorism-related.
US officials said the suspect was a second lieutenant attending the aviation school at the base.
Military men from around the globe attend the Naval Air Station in Pensacola for flight training.
The shooter opened fire in a classroom building shortly before 7am Friday. The attack left four people dead, including the assailant, and eight others wounded.
According to officials, two deputy sheriffs were shot, one in the arm and one in the leg, but they are expected to survive.
“It covered two floors from that one building. It is a bit like a movie because you have spent shell casings all over,” said a sheriff’s commander during a press conference. AP reported the building was Building 633.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he had spoken to President Donald Trump. “This is a special place… all these brave warriors who wear the wings, they come here for flight training. This is a dark day for a very great place.” He said it “strikes at the heart of the community” – both Pensacola and the Navy overall.
It was the second mass shooting at a military installation in the United States in one week. An active shooter named Gabriel Romero killed two people at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Romero was a petty officer in the United States Navy. The Pensacola mass shooting unfolded on the morning of December 6, 2019.