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Saturday, December 7, 2019

Shooter at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida was a Saudi national

he suspect in a shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday morning was a Saudi national, CNN and the Associated Press report, citing sources.
The shooting — the second in a week at a U.S. Navy base — left four dead, including the suspect, and seven people wounded.
Military from around the globe attend the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. The Associated Press, citing an unnamed U.S. official, reports the suspect in Friday's shooting was an aviation student from Saudi Arabia. CNN, citing six unnamed sources, said the suspect is a member of the Saudi military.

The shooting began around 6:30 a.m. central time and the suspect was stopped by two sheriff's deputies before 8 a.m., authorities said.
NAS Pensacola, situated in the far western Panhandle, employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel
Escambia County sheriff's deputies responded to a classroom building on the base within "a couple of minutes" of receiving reports, said Chip Simmons, sheriff's office deputy. The shooting happened on two floors of the building.
Two deputies stopped the shooter and sustained injuries. One was shot in arm and treated at a local hospital, and one was shot in knee and was undergoing surgery. Authorities expected both to survive.
Authorities could not publicly say if the suspect was a member of the military or if the was shooting was being considered an act of terrorism. They did not say what type of firearm the shooter used.
Eight patients, including the deputies, were taken to nearby Baptist Hospital.
One of the victims died at the hospital, and two died on the base. The shooter also died on the base.
The names of the victims will not be released until the next of kin have been notified, authorities said.
Initial reports that some victims were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital were incorrect.
"Walking through the crime scene was like being on the set of a movie," said Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. "This doesn't happen in Escambia County. This doesn’t happen in Pensacola. ... So now we’re here to pick up the pieces." 
The Navy base will be closed all day Friday.
NAS Pensacola is home of the Blue Angels, the Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, and the National Naval Aviation Museum. The air station is also the primary training base for all U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard officers pursuing designation as Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers.
"This is a tragic day for the city of Pensacola," said Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson.  "We’re a military town. Our hearts and prayers are connected to those that serve us every day. And certainly the expectation that this would happen to us here, at home, was unexpected."
Vice President Mike Pence said on Twitter that he was "praying for the victims & their families."
Rep. Matt Gaetz said in a video on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened” by Friday morning’s shootings. "NAS Pensacola is a huge source of pride for all of northwest Florida. It is the home of naval aviation. It is the home of the Blue Angels," Gaetz said. "In our home, this is who we are. This is what we love."
St. John's Catholic School, located outside the front of the base, has been closed due to the lockdown. Corry Station, a naval training installation a few miles northwest of NAS Pensacola, has also been locked down as a precaution.
The shooting comes two days after a U.S. Navy sailor shot three people and then killed himself at Pearl Harbor.
Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, who works at NAS Pensacola as a civilian contractor, said he was in line to go through the gate when it was shut down.
"There's probably been 100 or so various law enforcement vehicles zooming down the wrong side on Navy Boulevard," Bergosh said. "There's been ambulances, fire trucks. It's my understanding there's multiple causalities."


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