Posted on 12/09/2019 9:29:26 AM PST by karpov
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — The Saudi gunman who killed three people at the Pensacola naval base had apparently gone on Twitter shortly before the shooting to blast U.S. support of Israel and accuse America of being anti-Muslim, a U.S. official said Sunday as the FBI confirmed it is operating on the assumption the attack was an act of terrorism.
Investigators are also trying to establish whether the killer, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, of the Royal Saudi Air Force, acted alone or was part of a larger plot.
Alshamrani, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the rampage at a classroom building Friday, was undergoing flight training at Pensacola, where members of foreign militaries routinely receive instruction.
“We are, as we do in most active-shooter investigations, work with the presumption that this was an act of terrorism,” said Rachel J. Rojas, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s office in Jacksonville.
Authorities believe the gunman made social media posts criticizing the U.S. under a user handle similar to his name, but federal law enforcement officials are investigating whether he authored the words or just posted them, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Also, investigators believe the gunman visited New York City, including Rockefeller Center, days before the shooting and are working to determine the purpose of the trip, the official said.
All foreign students at the Pensacola base have been accounted for, no arrests have been made, and the community is under no immediate threat, Rojas said at a news conference. A Saudi commanding officer has ordered all students from the country to remain at one location at the base, authorities said.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Officially, despite his tweet, I believe that we still have no idea what could have motivated Mohammad to engage in jihad.
Mad Mo’ being Mad Mo’.
That’s the way it works.
So his motive remains unknown.
<< and accuse America of being anti-Muslim >>
And he aimed to rectify that problem by ....murdering Americans.
> Alshamrani, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the rampage... <
That alone bothers me. A guy goes jihadist on a military base, and it takes an officer from an outside agency to neutralize him! Aren’t there any military police on bases anymore?
And what would have happened had the deputy been delayed by a traffic jam? Trump needs to fix this immediately. As I have noted elsewhere, a good start would be to discretely arm veteran NCO’s.
BREAKING! EXPLOSIVE! Last week. :-) Careful of the mods.
Not entirely true (and I wish I was joking). I understand that the instigator of this workplace violence was angry over toxic masculinity. His instructor nicknamed him "Porn Stash", and he was upset about that. No doubt, President Trump's abrasive tweets are responsible for creating this toxic atmosphere, and that will show up as yet another impeachment charge. Just ask any objective law professor, and I'm sure they will confirm my conclusions.
Discretely? Veteran NCOs?
They’re all soldiers. They should be armed, always, period.
> Discretely? Veteran NCOs? They’re all soldiers. They should be armed, always, period. <
That’s a fair point. But I’d at least start with the veteran NCOs. Those guys and gals have proven themselves to be reliable and trustworthy. You never hear about any of them going crazy and shooting up the place.
I carry my weapon at all times, except when I’m going on base. It’s ridiculous and insulting to military members that the gummit assumes we’re not trustworthy. From Ft Hood to now, leadership bears responsibility for the deaths of people who, had they been armed, could have neutralized the threat.
> It’s ridiculous and insulting to military members that the gummit assumes we’re not trustworthy. <
Was there ever a time when service personnel could carry while on base? If so, why did that change?
By the way, Trump could change the current policy in an instant. I’m a bit puzzled as to why he does not do so. Most of the country would applaud such a move.
It’s been a while since I did the research, but it strikes me that the statute prohibiting carry on federal installations was passed in the 60s.
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