This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
On December 7, 2019, a shooting rampage at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida left three American sailors dead and eight others wounded. The attack, carried out by a 21-year-old Saudi officer, has raised questions about the US-Saudi military training program.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered a review of vetting procedures for the program, which brought Mohammed Alshamrani to the naval base. Alshamrani, a second lieutenant in the Saudi Royal Air Force, opened fire in a classroom, killing the three sailors and wounding eight others before being shot dead by police.
Alshamrani was armed with a lawfully purchased Glock 9mm handgun and had posted a manifesto on Twitter before the shooting, denouncing America as 'a nation of evil.' The FBI is investigating the attack, with the 'presumption' it was an act of terrorism, but has yet to make a final determination.
White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien described the attack as 'a terrorist attack,' while FBI special agent-in-charge Rachel Rojas said the main goal of the investigation is to confirm whether Alshamrani 'acted alone or was he a part of a larger network.'
US lawmakers have called for the Saudi training program to be halted pending the investigation's outcome. Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican, said, 'We need to suspend the Saudi program until we find out what happened here.'
The attack has struck a nerve in the United States, with echoes of the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which Saudi citizens accounted for 15 of the 19 hijackers. Saudi Arabia remains one of the closest US allies in the Middle East, but the relationship has been marred by controversy, including the 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
