The Final Call

Saudi student opens fire at Florida Naval base, killing 3

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The Saudi gunman who killed three people at the Pensacola naval base had apparently gone on Twitter shortly before the shooting to blast U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, a U.S. official said as the FBI confirmed it is operating on the assumption the attack was an act of terrorism.

Investigators are also trying to establish whether the killer, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, of the Royal Saudi Air Force, acted alone or was part of a larger plot.

Mr. Alshamrani, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the Dec. 6 rampage at a classroom building, was undergoing flight training at Pensacola, where members of foreign militaries routinely receive instruction.

“We are, as we do in most active-shooter investigations, work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism,” said Rachel J. Rojas, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Jacksonville.

Authorities believe the gunman made social media posts criticizing the U.S. under a user handle similar to his name, but federal law enforcement officials are investigating whether he authored the words or just posted them, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke Dec. 8 to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Also, investigators believe the gunman visited New York City, including Rockefeller Center, days before the shooting and are working to determine the purpose of the trip, the official said.

All foreign students at the Pensacola base have been accounted for, no arrests have been made, and the community is under no immediate threat, Ms. Rojas said at a news conference. A Saudi commanding officer has ordered all students from the country to remain at one location at the base, authorities said.

“There are a number of Saudi students who are close to the shooter and continue to cooperate in this investigation,” Ms. Rojas said. “The Saudi government has pledged to fully cooperate with our investigation.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the investigation was proceeding under “the presumption that this was an act of terrorism” and he called for better vetting of foreigners allowed into the U.S. for training on American bases.

Speaking at a Dec. 8 news conference, Gov. DeSantis also said the gunman had a social media trail and a “deep-seated hatred of the United States.”

He said he thought such an attack could have been prevented with better vetting. 

Earlier in the week of the shooting, Mr. Alshamrani hosted a dinner party where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, another U.S. official told the AP.

Mr. Alshamrani used a Glock 9 mm weapon that had been purchased legally in Florida, Ms. Rojas said. Gov. DeSantis questioned whether foreigners should continue to be allowed under federal law to buy guns in the U.S. and called it a “federal loophole.”

Family members and others identified the three dead as Joshua Kaleb Watson, a 23-year-old graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who joined the Navy after graduating from high school last year; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Georgia.

The official who spoke Dec. 7 said one of the three students who attended the dinner party hosted by the attacker recorded video outside the classroom building while the shooting was taking place. Two other Saudi students watched from a car, the official said.

In a statement, the FBI confirmed that it had obtained base surveillance videos as well as cellphone footage taken by a bystander outside the building, and had also interviewed that person. (AP)