Saudi king calls Trump after shooting in US military base

Saudi king calls Trump after shooting in US military base

Saudi king calls Trump after shooting in US military base

Washington, Dec 7 (IANS) The King of Saudi Arabia called US President Donald Trump Friday after the shooter that killed three people at a US military base earlier in the day was confirmed to be a Saudi national.

"King Salman of Saudi Arabia just called to express his sincere condolences and give his sympathies," Trump said in a tweet, adding the Saudi king said the shooter "in no way, shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people."

The call came hours after a shooting spree at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, on Friday morning that claimed the lives of three people and that of the shooter. According to US media outlets, the shooter has been identified as a Saudi national receiving military training at the base, Xinhua news agency reported.

US law enforcement is reportedly looking into whether the shooting was terrorism related.

"It's possible today's attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola was motivated by a personal grievance & not ideology, but it has many of the markings of an act motivated by international terrorism," tweeted US Senator for Florida Marco Rubio.

 

4 dead in Florida naval air station shooting

 

Miami, December 7 (IANS) The perpetrator of a shooting this Friday at Naval Air Station Pensacola in northwest Florida and three of the people he attacked have died, with the gunman slain by security forces, official sources said.

Meanwhile the Escambia County Sheriff's Office (ECSO) specified that the shooter and two of the other victims were killed at the scene, while another died at Baptist Hospital, Efe news reported.

In a press conference at the gates of the base, which is on lockdown, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan and representatives of the Navy and the city of Pensacola said that a total of 11 people were caught in the shooting, including the gunman who started it.

The shooting broke out around 7.00 a.m. (local time) in a building at the naval air station where the classrooms of the base that occupy two floors are located.

Media in the area said that at least 11 people wounded in the incident have been taken to area hospitals.

Five were taken to Baptist Hospital, which has not yet provided any information about the condition of the patients, while another six were moved to Sacred Heart Hospital, according to the Pensacola News Journal website.

The death of the gunman came at 8.00 a.m. (local time) after the naval air station was "secured."

Local media said the man responsible for the shooting was gunned down by security forces.

Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh told the Pensacola News Journal that he was standing in line to enter the naval air station when the doors closed and he got the news by telephone about what was happening inside.

Police cars, ambulances and fire engines rushed to the scene, Bergosh said.

A Catholic school near the naval air station was also totally closed down.

The shooting at Pensacola occurred two days after a sailor of the United States Navy killed two people and wounded a third before committing suicide in a shooting at Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The two victims shot dead were civilians who worked for the Pentagon. The wounded person, another civilian, was hospitalized in stable condition, according to a military spokesperson.