PENSACOLA, Fla. — An aviation student from Saudi Arabia opened fire in a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday morning, the Florida governor said, an attack that left three dead in addition to the assailant.
The assault, which left eight others injured, was the second at a U.S. Navy base this week and prompted a massive law enforcement response and base lockdown.
Twelve people were hurt in the attack, including two sheriff’s deputies who were the first to respond, one of whom killed the shooter, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. One of the deputies was shot in the arm and the other in the knee, and both were expected to recover, he said.
All of the shooting took place in one classroom and the shooter used a handgun, authorities said.
Kinsella noted that weapons are not allowed on the base. The base remained closed until further notice and those still there would be evacuated when authorities decided it was safe to do so, Kinsella said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed at a news conference that the shooter was a member of the Saudi military who was in aviation training at the base. DeSantis spokesman Helen Ferre later said that DeSantis learned about the shooter’s identity from briefings with FBI and military officials.
The shooter was identified as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a member of the Saudi military, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Earlier Friday, two U.S. officials identified the student as a second lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force, and said authorities were investigating whether the attack was terrorism-related. They spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose information that had not yet been made public.
U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say whether the shooting was terrorism-related.
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