Alwaght- A Saudi military member training to be a pilot killed three people and injured 8 others at the US Naval Air Station Pensacola before he was shot dead by the sheriff's deputies responding to the scene.
It was the second time in two days that a deadly shooting has occurred at a US Navy base.
"There's obviously going to be a lot of questions about this individual being a foreign national, being a part of the Saudi air force and then to be here training on our soil," said the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis.
"Obviously the government of Saudi Arabia needs to make things better for these victims and I think they're going to owe a debt here, given that this was one of their individuals," he added.
Trump speaks with Saudi king
US President Donald Trump said that Saudi King Salman had called to "express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies to the families and friends of the warriors who were killed."
King Salman of Saudi Arabia just called to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies to the families and friends of the warriors who were killed and wounded in the attack that took place in Pensacola, Florida....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2019
Trump said the king told him that "this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people."
....The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2019
“It’s a horrible thing that took place, and we’re getting to the bottom of it,” Trump said of the shooting.
The shooting was over and the shooter was killed but the base remained on lockdown, according to a Navy spokeswoman.
"Multiple injured personnel have been transported to local hospitals. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies," Lt. Cmdr. Megan Isaac said in a statement.
The injured people were being treated at Baptist Hospital, WEAR TV reported.
Sheriff David Morgan told reporters on Friday morning that a sheriff's deputy fatally shot the shooter in a classroom on the base.
"Walking through the crime scene was like being on the set of a movie," Morgan said. He declined to share any details about the suspected shooter's identity.
Two of sheriff's deputies were injured, but both were likely to survive, officials said at the news conference.
Eight people were receiving treatment at Baptist Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Kathy Bowers said.
Timothy Kinsella, the base commanding officer, said he was "absolutely in awe of the response" to the attack.
"There was some real heroism today," he said. "I'm devastated. We are in shock. This is surreal, but I couldn't be prouder to wear the uniform that I wear because of my brothers and sisters in uniform, civilian or otherwise, that did what they did today to save lives."
On Wednesday, a Navy sailor shot and killed two civilian employees and injured another at the historic military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, before taking his own life. The shooter died from “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound”, the officials said.
The Pensacola base is a major training site for the Navy and home to its aerobatic flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels. Naval Air Station Pensacola employs more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel, according to the base's website.
Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson said at the news conference that the base is "an incredibly important part of our community."
"We're a military town," he said. "Our hearts and prayers are connected to all of those that serve us every day."
