Pensacola shooter Saudi Arabian aviation student, 4 killed including suspect

Author: CNN
Published: Updated:
Emergency responders near the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola, Florida, after a shooting at the base on December 6, 2019. WEAR-TV VIA AP

BREAKING UPDATE: A U.S. official has identified the shooter at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola as a Saudi Arabian aviation student. Authorities are investigating if the shooting was terrorism-related.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan says 11 people were shot in Friday’s attack, four of whom died, including the shooter. Base commander Capt. Timothy Kinsella Jr. says the base will remain closed until further notice.

Press Conference from Gov. Ron Desantis



For the second time in two days, a deadly shooting unfolded at a US Navy base Friday when a gunman killed at least three people and injured several others at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.

The shooter was also killed after two deputies exchanged gunfire with him, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan told reporters in a news conference.

Eight people were taken to Baptist Health Care, including one who died, said Chief Deputy Chip Simmons. The deputies who confronted the shooter also suffered gunshot wounds — one in the arm and one in the knee. Both are expected to survive.

The shooting occurred in a classroom building, Commanding Officer of NAS Pensacola Capt. Tim Kinsella said. The base will remain on lockdown until further notice, he said.

The names of the victims are not being released until authorities notify their families.

Walking through the scene “was like being on the set of a movie,” Morgan said.

“This doesn’t happen in Escambia County. It doesn’t happen in Pensacola. It doesn’t happen to our friends and neighbors who are members of the US Navy,” Morgan said. “But it did, and it has.”

The shooting comes just two days after an active duty US sailor, Gabriel Romero, killed two civilian employees and injured another before killing himself at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. Investigators have not announced a motive for the Wednesday shooting.

In a brief phone call, dispatch at the Naval Air Station told CNN, “We have an active situation right now.” The line was disconnected.

White House monitoring Pensacola shooting

President Donald Trump has been briefed on the Pensacola shooting, said White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere. The White House is monitoring the situation.

The White House and the governor’s office reached out to local authorities to offer assistance, Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson said.

Naval Air Station Pensacola employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel, according to the base’s website. Many families also live there, said retired Rear Adm. John Kirby, CNN’s military and diplomatic analyst, who was once stationed there.

“They love the base there,” Kirby said of the sailors. “It’s a great relationship between the people of Pensacola and the Navy and the base there. It’s a terrific Navy town.”

FBI personnel from Pensacola, Jacksonville and Mobile, Alabama, are responding to the station, an FBI spokeswoman said. Multiple agencies are cooperating on the investigation, including local law enforcement and Naval Criminal Investigative Services.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis offered “full support to law enforcement” investigating the incident.

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