It appears that the shooter that claimed the lives of four people at a Florida Naval station in Pensacola was an aviation student from Saudi Arabia. AP reported that authorities are investigating if the shooting was related to terrorism. It marked the second shooting at a military facility this week. A gunman began shooting just a few days ago at a Pearl Harbor station.
Edited by: TJVNews.com
Sources identified the shooter, who was killed in the incident, as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.
The FBI was the lead agency in charge of the investigation as of Friday afternoon.
Military from around the globe attend the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.
It all began on Friday morning at 6:50 am when the shooter opened fire in a classroom at the air station. In addition to the four people who were killed, many people were wounded including the assailant.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said four people had been killed and that the two sheriff’s deputies who were the first to respond, including one who killed the shooter, were wounded but expected to recover, according to an AP report.
One of the deputies was shot in the arm and the other was shot in the leg and was in surgery, Chief Deputy Chip Simmons said during a morning news conference.
“Walking through the crime scene was like being on the set of a movie,” Sheriff Morgan told reporters.
Morgan said eight people were taken to Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, and one of them died
According to information provided by its web site, the Naval Air Station in Pensacola employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel, as was reported by AP. The Pensacola air station is one of the most historic bases in the country and plays a major role in the economic prosperity of the surrounding area.
It’s home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration team, and includes the National Naval Aviation Museum, a popular regional tourist attraction, as was reported by AP.
The base was still on lockdown at about 10 a.m. and was to remain closed for the rest of the day, with only essential personnel allowed to enter. Pensacola Mayor Grover C. Robinson also asked residents to avoid the area around the base as investigators swarmed the scene.
AP reported that Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, who works at the Naval Air Station as a civilian contractor, told the Pensacola News Journal he was in line to go through the gate Friday morning when it was shut down due to the active shooter report.
“There’s probably been 100 or so various law enforcement vehicles zooming down the wrong side on Navy Boulevard,” Bergosh told the newspaper. “There’s been ambulances, fire trucks. It’s my understanding there’s multiple causalities.”
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting and is monitoring the situation, the White House said.
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted: “Saddened to hear of the horrible shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola & continuing to monitor the situation. Praying for the victims & their families & we commend the first responders for their swift action in taking down the shooter & getting those on base to safety.”
