Friday, a Saudi Air Force Officer named Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani shot and killed three people and wounded eight others at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fl.
Here is what we know thus far:
- The base commander said, ““He was in the aviation pipeline. He was training in aviation.”
- Alshamrani “hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Saturday.”
- Weapon of choice: A semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.
- Authorities have not ruled out an act of terrorism nor have they confirmed it. But, “investigators have found what purports to be an online screed written by the shooter (a tweet) and are working to determine if it is legitimate. In it, the writer expresses hatred toward Americans because of crimes against Muslims and humanity as well as US support for Israel.”
- Called the United States a ‘nation of evil.’
Unverified tweets that could be from the shooter’s suspended Twitter account.
Other Saudis on the base are being questioned.
Six other Saudi nationals were detained for questioning near the scene of the shooting, including three who were seen filming the entire incident, according to a person briefed on the initial stages of the investigation.
It was not known whether the six Saudis detained were students in the classroom building, and there was no immediate indication that those filming the incident were connected to the gunman, the person said.
Trump’s comments:
