A shooter opened fire in a classroom building at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola on Friday, 6 December, in an attack that left four people dead, including the assailant, and multiple people wounded.
The shooting — the second at a US Navy base this week — prompted a massive law enforcement response and a lockdown at the base.
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.
Eight people were taken to Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, and one of them died, Morgan said.
Shooter a Member of Saudi Military
The shooter was a member of the Saudi military who was in aviation training at the base, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference.
DeSantis spokesman Helen Ferre later said the governor learned about the shooter's identity from briefings with FBI and military officials.
A US official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity identified the shooter as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.
The official wasn’t authorised to discuss the matter publicly. The official also said the FBI is examining social media posts and investigating whether he acted alone or was connected to any broader group.
During a news conference Friday night, the FBI declined to release the shooter's identity and wouldn't comment on his possible motivations.
NAS Pensacola
NAS Pensacola employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel, according to its website. One of the Navy's most historic and storied bases, it sprawls along the waterfront southwest of downtown Pensacola and dominates the economy 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.
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.
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