Four People Dead, Including Suspect, After Shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola

This is the second time in three days that a shooter has opened fire at a U.S. naval base.

• By Haley Samsel
• Dec 06, 2019

Four people are dead, including the suspected gunman, after a shooter opened fire at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida on Friday morning. 

At least eight people were hospitalized as a result of the incident, while two victims and the shooter died at the scene. One of the victims taken to an area hospital later died. The Navy base, home to more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel, will be closed all day Friday.

The shooting was first reported around 7 a.m. local time, USA TODAY reported. The suspect, who has been identified as a trainee with the Saudi Air Force, was killed by a sheriff's deputy just before 8 a.m., according to Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. Two deputies were injured but expected to recover, according to the Associated Press.

"He was training in aviation," Capt. Timothy Kinsella, the base's commanding officer, said of the Saudi national. He declined to comment on whether the shooting is being investigated as a terrorist act, though politicians have already begun to weigh in. The Pensacola base regularly hosts international students for flight training, and a couple hundred students are enrolled in the program, Kinsella said, according to The New York Times.

This is the second time in three days that a naval base has experienced an active shooter incident. On Wednesday, two civilian workers were killed at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard near Honolulu by a gunman who was serving in the Navy.

The shooter eventually turned the gun on himself and died of a self-inflicted gun wound. No motive has been released by investigators, and officials said they are not sure if the workers were targeted or victims of a random attack.

This story has been updated to reflect that another person has died as a result of the shooting. More information will be added as it becomes available.