Sunday, December 8, 2019

FBI presuming shooting terrorism

The FBI is presuming the fatal shooting Friday of three servicemen at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., was terrorism, but the agency has yet to declare an official motive. In a Sunday afternoon press conference, Rachel L. Rojas, FBI special agent in charge of the Jacksonville division, said federal, state, and local authorities are investigating the attack by Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force. who was training as a naval flight officer at NAS Pensacola. He was killed by a sheriff’s deputy. Authorities are "working with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism,” Rojas said. The main goal now is to see if Ashamrani acted alone or was part of a network. (Source: NBCNews, 12/08/19) The handgun used by Alshamrani was a 9mm Glock bought legally in Florida, according to the FBI. Rojas said during the press conference at Escambia County's Emergency Operations Center that is was purchase lawfully through a process that was open to "not just him, but any foreign national." She did not say when or where it was purchased. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has information on regulations allowing foreign nationals to buy guns on U.S. soil. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 12/08/19) Previous