Pensacola Military Shooting: 3 Killed By Gunman, Who Is Shot Dead

PENSACOLA, FL — A gunman killed three people Friday at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola before being shot dead himself, and the attack is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, authorities said. The shooting was the second in three days at U.S. military installations.

U.S. and Saudi officials on Friday evening identified the gunman as Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani, who was in training funded by Saudi Arabia, according to Pentagon spokesman Chris Garver. His training was scheduled to end in August 2020.

Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, whose congressional district includes the base, told CNN the shooting should be investigated as terrorism.

“We can safely call this an act of terrorism, not an act of workplace violence,” he said.

President Trump said that Saudi King Salman had called him “to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies.”

“The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people,” Trump tweeted.

Eleven people were shot altogether, including two sheriff's deputies, one of whom shot and killed the gunman, 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.

The names of those killed and wounded in the Pensacola air base shooting have not been released and won't be until their families have been notified, base commanding officer Capt. Timothy F. Kinsella Jr. said in a morning news conference.

Kinsella said "they're part of the Navy family," The New York Times reported. “They’re part of us, and our heart goes out to those of you who may be affected by this tragedy.”

Five of those shot were taken to Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, according to hospital spokeswoman Kathy Bowers, and six others to Ascension Sacred Heart, spokesman Mike Burke said. Neither spokesperson had information on their conditions that they could share with The Associated Press.

Morgan, the Escambia County sheriff, described the crime scene as "like being on the set of a movie."

The shooting comes two days after a U.S. Navy sailor at a Pearl Harbor military base killed two people and injured a third before killing himself. In that shooting, the sailor opened fire at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam near Honolulu. The victims were all civilian Defense Department employees who worked in the base's shipyard.

The motive in that shooting remains unclear.

Friday's shooting was reported about 6:45 a.m., drawing a major law enforcement response. The base was placed on lockdown with its gates secured and was to remain on lockdown for the remainder of the day.

“Only essential personnel will be allowed onto the base,” the Naval station announced.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive said on Twitter it was among the law enforcement agencies responding to the shooting at NAS Pensacola.

The White House said President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting and was monitoring the situation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his office is offering "full support to law enforcement."

The base, known as the "cradle of Naval aviation," is the home of the Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron. Training for Naval pilots and flight officers begin there. The base employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel; it was placed on lockdown after reports of shots were fired.

“For 200 years, they have been a part of the city of Pensacola. We’re a military town,” Pensacola Mayor Grover C. Robinson said at a news conference. "Our hearts and prayers are connected to all those who serve us every day. Certainly the expectation that this would happen here, our home, was unexpected.”