- The suspect in the deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, a Saudi military service member in the US for training, held a dinner party the night before the attack to watch mass shooting videos, a US official told the Associated Press.
- During the attack, another Saudi student at the US naval base reportedly filmed the shooting.
- Ten Saudi students have reportedly been detained for questioning. Some of the Saudi nationals at the base are, however, currently unaccounted for.
The suspect in the deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida held a dinner party the night before the attack to watch mass shooting videos, a US official told the Associated Press.
The suspect, a member of the Saudi Air Force who was in the US for training, shot and killed three people and wounded another seven Friday in a horrific act of violence. During the attack, another Saudi student at the US naval base reportedly filmed the shooting.
Ten Saudi students have reportedly been detained for questioning. Some of the Saudi nationals at the base are, however, currently unaccounted for.
The suspect has been identified as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani. An analysis by SITE Intel Group of what is believed to be the suspect's Twitter page, a social media account that has since been suspended, featured posts that echoed Osama bin Laden, Rita Katz, SITE's director, wrote on Twitter.
The user wrote that the security of the US and the Muslim world is a "shared destiny," explaining, "You will not be safe until we live it as reality in [Palestine], and American troops get out of our land."
Katz noted that the tweets did not indicate allegiance to any one group. "Given that ISIS has very little to lose at this point, it wouldn't be surprising if it claimed the attack, regardless of the attacker's potential allegiances," she speculated.
The Associated Press reported that US authorities are investigating the situation to determine whether or not Friday's attack was an act of terrorism.
Alshamrani was involved in a special training program for foreign military service members and was, according to USA Today, one of 5,180 students from 153 countries in the US for training.
"Immersing international students in our U.S. Navy training and culture helps build partnership capacity for both the present and for the years ahead," a senior officer overseeing the training previously said. "These relationships are truly a win-win for everyone involved."
In the wake of the shooting, some have called for this program to be re-evaluated.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott posted on Twitter Friday afternoon that "it's clear that we need to take steps to ensure that any and all foreign nationals are scrutinized and vetted extensively before being embedded with our American men and women in uniform."
Next Story
I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
10 Best things to do in India for tourists
19,000 school job losers likely to be eligible recruits: Bengal SSC
Groww receives SEBI approval to launch Nifty non-cyclical consumer index fund
Retired director of MNC loses ₹25 crore to cyber fraudsters who posed as cops, CBI officers
Hyundai plans to scale up production capacity, introduce more EVs in India
