Penasacola shooting suspect Saudi Officer | World Defense

Penasacola shooting suspect Saudi Officer

space cadet

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
1,338
Reactions
773 15 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
US official: Pensacola shooting suspect was Saudi AF officer
By LOLITA C. BALDORan hour ago


800.jpeg

This photo taken from video provided by WEAR-TV shows emergency responders near the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola, Fla., Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. The US Navy is confirming that an active shooter and one other person are dead after gunfire at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. Area hospital representatives tell The Associated Press that at least 11 people were hospitalized. The base remains locked down amid a huge law enforcement response. (WEAR-TV via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Florida Naval station shooting suspect was an aviation officer in the Saudi Air Force, U.S. officials said Friday, as the FBI and other authorities began investigating the incident to determine if it was terrorism-related.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the suspect was a second lieutenant attending the aviation school at the base. Military from around the globe attend the Naval Air Station in Pensacola for flight training.
The shooter opened fire in a classroom building on Friday morning. The attack left four people dead, including the assailant, and multiple people wounded.




There was no immediate report on the shooting carried by Saudi state media. The kingdom has long relied on the U.S. to train its military.
The shooting was the second at a U.S. Navy base this week.
 

Falcon29

THINK TANK
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
2,176
Reactions
1,042 14 0
Country
Palestinian Territory, Occupied
Location
USA
He posted a motive on his twitter account, it was about US support to Israel and other things. His account then was suspended minutes ago.

So like I said in previous posts, the US is not winning hearts and minds of MENA population , primarily the youth who will decide the future of the region. And also because Arab rulers are not championing the causes of the locals so many of them take it upon themselves to hold such responsibility. It really is a crisis that needs to be addressed.

Arab leaders are seriously detached from their people. They don't even have 5% support among their people, they are just ruling with iron fist. These acts serve as a message to these retarded leaders who still can't get the point that the people are not satisfied with neglect towards the causes of their people.
 
Last edited:

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
My most sincere condolences to the American people on the tragedy that took place at Pensacola. This should not have happened. Killing innocent Americans to avenge for Israel/Palestine killing each other.
 

space cadet

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
1,338
Reactions
773 15 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
The Saudi pilots that I have been around have always been pleasant and respectful. I remember when we were about to leave Fort Rucker, (literally our house hold goods had been moved and we were about to get in my truck to leave) four of them stopped by to wish us well.
 

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi pilots that I have been around have always been pleasant and respectful. I remember when we were about to leave Fort Rucker, (literally our house hold goods had been moved and we were about to get in my truck to leave) four of them stopped by to wish us well.

Likewise. I had the chance to work side by side with US military personnel. We had a good time serving together and we still in touch until this day. As we have worked in past, fought side by side, shed blood sweat and tears, we will again fight to keep this brotherly relations solid as ever.
 

UAE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
1,641
Reactions
929 11 0
Country
USA
Location
United Arab Emirates
My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those affected by this tragedy.
 

space cadet

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
1,338
Reactions
773 15 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — The Saudi student who fatally shot three people at a U.S. naval base in Florida hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Saturday.

Officials investigating the deadly attack were working Saturday to determine whether it was motivated by terrorism, while President Donald Trump indicated he would review policies governing foreign military training in the United States.

Family members on Saturday identified two of the shooting victims, both of whom were hailed as heroes for trying to stop the shooter and flagging down first responders after being shot.






The shooter opened fire inside a classroom at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday, killing three people and wounding two sheriff’s deputies, one in the arm and one in the knee, before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also hurt. Both deputies were expected to survive.

The official who spoke Saturday said one of the three students who attended the dinner party hosted by the attacker recorded video outside the classroom building while the shooting was taking place. Two other Saudi students watched from a car, the official said.

Ten Saudi students were being held on the base Saturday while several others were unaccounted for, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity after being briefed by federal authorities.


View attachment 1575768739153.png


A U.S. official on Friday identified the shooter as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The official also said the FBI was examining social media posts and investigating whether he acted alone or was connected to any broader group.

Two U.S. officials identified the student as a second lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force, and said Friday that authorities were investigating whether the attack was terrorism-related. They spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose information that had not yet been made public.

In remarks at a gathering of top U.S. defense and military officials on Saturday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper was asked whether he could say definitively that the shooting was an act of terrorism.

“No, I can’t say it’s terrorism at this time,” he said, adding that the investigation needs to proceed. He declined to discuss details of the investigation so far.

President Trump also declined to say whether the shooting was terrorism-related. The president tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims on Friday and noted that Saudi King Salman had reassured him in a telephone call that the shooter “in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people.”






But in comments echoing those made earlier by Esper, Trump said Saturday that he would review policies governing foreign military training in the U.S.

The U.S. has long had a robust training program for Saudis, providing assistance in the U.S. and in the kingdom. Currently, more than 850 Saudis are in the United States for various training activities. They are among more than 5,000 foreign students from 153 countries in the U.S. going through military training.

“This has been done for many decades,” Trump said. “I guess we’re going to have to look into the whole procedure. We’ll start that immediately.”

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday, Esper and others downplayed any initial impact on U.S.-Saudi ties.

Asked whether he would now hesitate to send U.S. forces to Saudi Arabia, he said, “No, not at all.” He said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have shared security interests, especially with regard to Iran.

The shooting has shined a light on the sometimes rocky relationship between the two countries, however.

The kingdom is still trying to recover from the killing last year of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Saudi intelligence officials and a forensic doctor killed and dismembered Khashoggi on Oct. 2, 2018, just as his fiancée waited outside the diplomatic mission.

Naval Air Station Pensacola is one of the Navy’s most historic and storied bases. It sprawls along the waterfront southwest of the city’s downtown and dominates the economy of the surrounding area.

Part of the base resembles a college campus, with buildings where, in addition to foreign students, 60,000 members of the U.S. Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard train each year in multiple fields of aviation.

Kinsella said the base would remain closed until further notice.

Residents of Pensacola mourned the attacks and offered their condolences to affected members of the community.

Family members on Saturday identified one of the victims as a 23-year-old recent graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who alerted first responders to where the shooter was even after he had been shot several times.

“Joshua Kaleb Watson saved countless lives today with his own,” his older brother Adam Watson wrote on Facebook. “He died a hero and we are beyond proud.”

A second victim was identified as Mohammed “Mo” Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who joined the Navy after graduating from high school last year, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Haitham’s mother, Evelyn Brady, herself a Navy veteran, said the commander of her son’s school called her and told her Haitham had tried to stop the shooter.

The former track and field star had been assigned to flight crew training and was looking forward to graduating from the program later this month, Brady said.

“He said he was going to get his flight jacket for Christmas,” she said. “Now that’s not going to happen.”

The shooting is the second at a U.S. naval base in one week. A sailor whose submarine was docked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, opened fire on three civilian employees Wednesday, killing two before taking his own life.
 

space cadet

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
1,338
Reactions
773 15 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
when I first heard news of this I wondered if any of the others knew what was going to happen, the Saudi pilots were all a very tight knit group, I guess I got my answer
 

Berke2

MEMBER
Joined
Oct 17, 2019
Messages
335
Reactions
280 0 0
Country
Pakistan
Location
United Kingdom
This is weird. So one guy shot and the others took a video, all this after they'd watched videos of mass shootings together at a party.
 

Scorpion

THINK TANK: SENIOR
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
3,868
Reactions
3,197 56 0
Country
Saudi Arabia
Location
Saudi Arabia
I would be very careful not to judge at the moment since we don't have any information yet. This news will be exploited by anti-trump anti-Saudi to the fullest.

Those who filmed may have nothing to do here. We Saudis like to film everything all the time for the sake of being first first but as they say curiosity kills the cat.
 

space cadet

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
1,338
Reactions
773 15 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
FBI hunt for missing Saudi servicemen as it's revealed Pensacola Naval base killer hosted dinner party to watch mass shooting videos and visited New York to see Rockefeller Christmas tree lights turned on just two days before
  • Saudi military student Mohammed Saeed al-Shamrani, 21, killed three people and injured 12 when he opened fire at Navy Station Pensacola on Friday
  • Another Saudi student allegedly videotaped the attack, while two others watched from a nearby car
  • The FBI have detained 10 Saudi students for questioning, but are still searching for 'several' others who have not been seen since the attack
  • al-Shamrani hosted a dinner party on Thursday evening with three other Saudi students where they watched videos of mass shootings
  • He and fellow Saudi students also traveled to NYC in the days before the attack
  • Air Force bases have been ordered to increase their security as of Friday night
  • Officials have not yet deemed the shooting as 'terrorism', but FBI terrorism investigators are on the scene
  • US Naval Academy graduate, Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, and military student Mohammed Haitham, 19, have been named as victims of the attack
 

UAE

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
1,641
Reactions
929 11 0
Country
USA
Location
United Arab Emirates

space cadet

SENIOR MEMBER
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
1,338
Reactions
773 15 0
Country
USA
Location
USA
Saudi gunman complained about nickname ‘Porn Stash’ given by Pensacola flight instructor
by Madison Dibble
| December 09, 2019 10:27 AM






The Saudi national who opened fire at a Navy base in Florida was outraged at his peers who slapped him with the nickname “Porn Stash.”

Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, opened fire, killing three and wounding seven, at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. Alshamrani was named as the presumed terrorist on Friday, but he was known by a different name on the base: "Porn Stash."
The accused terrorist sported a thick mustache similar to the facial hair of many adult film stars.
Alshamrani was “infuriated” after a meteorology instructor, James Day, called him “Porn Stash” during class in front of nearly a dozen other students. The Saudi national filed a complaint with his superior officer about the public mockery.
“I was infuriated as to why he would say that in front of the class,” Alshamrani said in the complaint obtained by the New York Times. “Laughing, he continued to ask, ‘What? Have you not seen a porn star before? After I did not respond, he just let go of the subject.”
The incident took place more than seven months ago, and the FBI does not believe the nickname was the basis for the shooting. Day’s employer noted that they had no updates related to the situation because it had been handled and closed in April. Day had offered to apologize to Alshamrani, but the gunman declined and requested to be reassigned to a different instructor, which he was.
Authorities have presumed that the shooting as an “act of terror” and Saudi officials have been retracing Alshamrani’s steps to see if he had been radicalized during a visit to the Middle East in February.
 
Top