Pensacola naval base shooting that left 3 dead presumed to be terrorism, FBI says

Authorities said their main goal is to determine whether the suspect acted alone or whether he was part of a "larger network."

Dec. 8, 2019, 2:23 PM EST
By Ben Kesslen

While the FBI is presuming the fatal shooting of three at a Pensacola, Florida, naval base on Friday was terrorism, it has yet to declare an official motive.

In a news conference Sunday afternoon, Rachel L. Rojas, the FBI's special agent in charge in Jacksonville, said federal, state and local authorities are investigating the attack by the suspect, identified as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was in a training program at Naval Air Station Pensacola. A sheriff's deputy killed him during the attack Friday morning.

The Navy identified the dead late Saturday as three aviation students: Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, of Coffee, Alabama; Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Georgia.

The main goal of the investigation is to find out whether Alshamrani acted alone or whether he was part of a “larger network,” but authorities stressed Sunday that the community is safe and they do not suspect any other immediate or direct threats.

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