There are new developments in the investigation of the shooting that took place yesterday morning on the Pensacola Naval Base. Six Saudi nationals have been detained for questioning, and the shooter has been identified. The base is only partially open, even more than 24 hours after the shooting, given how large the crime scene and ensuing investigation necessarily must be.
According to The New York Times:
A United States military official identified the suspect, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the attack, as Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani. He was one of hundreds of military trainees at the base, which is considered the home of naval aviation.
Six other Saudi nationals were detained for questioning near the scene of the shooting, including three who were seen filming the entire incident, according to a person briefed on the initial stages of the investigation. A group that monitors online jihadist activity said that shortly before the shooting, a Twitter account with a name matching the gunman’s posted a “will” calling the United States a “nation of evil” and criticizing its support for Israel.
On MSNBC, Alex Witt talked to reporter on the scene, Blayne Alexander, who filled her on on what she knows, and the questions they have for officials that are in the forefront of their minds.
We also are going to ask about a bit of reporting from my colleague, Ken Dilanian. His sources are telling him that a number of, he says the shooter's Saudi classmates were led away by officials near the scene where that happened. So don't know the details of that, but certainly something we're going to be asking about as well. And another big question, Alex, that's top of mind is about the weapon itself.
One, how did he come in possession of that gun? We know that he did use a handgun in that attack.
But the other question, of course, is how did he get it onto base? Know weapons are not allowed, handguns are not allowed. So the big question is what types of security measures were in place and how was he able to get that handgun on to base.
And now, the is even more disturbing news from, Clint Watts, terrorism expert and analyst for MSNBC:
Our questions are also, how strongly will Republicans, and Trump in particular, speak out against this gun violence, given the fact that it was perpetrated against their precious military members? Given that it was carried out by a Saudi national, and Trump is apparently fine with the Saudis killing American residents? And how seriously will he take these sentiments offered by Jared's BFF's daddy, the king of Saudi Arabia?
I take that back. It's not really a question if we already know the answer.
