Gunman showed extremist videos before the attack
MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The Saudi military student who carried out a deadly shooting spree at a US naval base showed videos of mass shootings at a dinner party the night before the attack, US media reported Saturday.
The shooting Friday in a classroom building at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida killed three sailors and wounded eight other people, including two responding sheriff’s deputies, before police shot dead the assailant.
The dinner party revelation came as authorities probed whether the shooter had any accomplices.
“We’re finding out what took place, whether it’s one person or a number of people,” President Donald Trump told reporters. “We’ll get to the bottom of it very quickly.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Saturday formally identified the attacker as Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and a student naval flight officer.
The dinner party revelation came as authorities probed whether the shooter had any accomplices.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist media, said he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read: “I’m against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil.”
“I hate you because every day you (are) supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity.”
The Twitter account that posted the manifesto — which also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote from al-Qaeda’s deceased leader Osama bin Laden — has been suspended.
The shooter did not have any apparent ties to terror groups and no group has officially claimed the attack, the Times reported, citing an unnamed senior American official.
However, “given that ISIS has very little to lose at this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if it claimed the attack, regardless of the attacker’s potential allegiances,” tweeted SITE Director Rita Katz, referring to the Islamic State group.
Naval Air Station Pensacola hosts the US Navy’s foreign military training programs, established in 1985 specifically for Saudi students before being expanded to other nationalities.