Pensacola Naval Base Shooter Was Saudi Aviation Student: Reports
The suspect who opened fire at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday morning was a Saudi national, according to multiple reports.
The gunman, who authorities have yet to name, was killed by a sheriff’s deputy, but only after he shot and killed three people and injured seven others, including two police officers.
“The gunman has been identified as a Saudi national,” The New York Times reported, citing “three sources familiar with the investigation.”
“The Pensacola base is known to host international students for flight training,” the outlet added.
Other outlets, including Fox News, The Associated Press, NBC News and The Washington Post also reported the shooter was a Saudi national.
Citing a senior U.S. official, The Post reported that the “gunman was a military pilot from Saudi Arabia training in the United States.”
“Just received a full briefing on the tragic shooting at NAS Pensacola in Florida, and spoke to @GovRonDeSantis,” President Donald Trump tweeted Friday.
Just received a full briefing on the tragic shooting at NAS Pensacola in Florida, and spoke to @GovRonDeSantis. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time. We are continuing to monitor the situation as the investigation is ongoing.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2019
“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time. We are continuing to monitor the situation as the investigation is ongoing.”
“This is a tragic day for the city of Pensacola,” Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson told reporters during a news conference.
“We are a military town, our hearts and prayers are connected to all those that serve us every single day.
“We will overcome this, but today this is certainly a tragic day.”
Investigators are looking into whether the shooting was terror-related, the AP reported.
A motive was unclear at the time of publication of this article.
It’s not unheard of for radical Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia, nearly all of whose residents are Muslim, to train at U.S. flight schools.
In fact, some of the al-Qaida terrorists responsible for perpetrating the 9/11 terror attacks, most of whom hailed from Saudi Arabia, had taken flight lessons at American schools.
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