Base killer had watched mass shooting videos before attack

PENSACOLA, Florida — A Saudi student who shot dead three people at a U.S. naval base hosted a dinner party earlier in the week at which he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official said Saturday.

Officials investigating the killings were working to determine whether they were motivated by terrorism.

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 are 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 as the shooting occurred. Two other Saudi students watched from a car, the official said. Ten Saudi students were being held on the base Saturday while others were unaccounted for, said the official, who had been briefed by U.S. federal authorities.

An official said Friday that the shooter had been identified as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani and the FBI was examining whether he acted alone or was connected to any broader group.

Alshamrani was said by U.S. officials to have been a second lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force.

U.S. President Donald Trump declined to say whether the shooting was terrorism-related. On Friday, Trump noted that Saudi King Salman had reassured him that the shooter “in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people.” But in comments echoing those made earlier by Defence Secretary Mark Esper, Trump said Saturday that he would review policies governing foreign military training in the U.S.

The U.S. has had a robust training program for Saudis. 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. “I guess we’re going to have to look into the whole procedure. We’ll start that immediately,” Trump said.

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 U.S. Navy after graduating from high school last year, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Haitham’s mother, Evelyn Brady, said the commander of her son’s school told her Haitham had tried to stop the shooter.