Fast Forward

Florida Naval Station Shooter Called U.S. ‘Evil’ For Supporting Israel

The gate to the Pensacola Naval Air Station following a shooting on December 06, 2019 in Pensacola, Florida. Image by Josh Brasted/Getty Images.

By Marcy Oster December 9, 2019

(JTA) — A military student from Saudi Arabia who killed three people during a shooting attack at a Navy flight school in Florida reportedly posted a message slamming the United States for supporting Israel.

The gunman in the Friday attack at the Naval Air Station Pensacola was identified as Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Saudi air force who was a student naval flight officer. His training with the U.S. military began in August 2017, and he was scheduled to finish in August 2020.

Shamrani hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three other students watched videos of mass shootings, The Associated Press reported on Saturday, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

One of the three students who attended the party filmed the shooting from outside the classroom building where the shooting took place, the AP reported. Two other Saudi students reportedly watched the shooting from a nearby car.

A Twitter account bearing Shamrani’s name tweeted a message shortly before the shooting calling the U.S. a “nation of evil” for supporting Israel, according to SITE intelligence group, which tracks extremist activity, the Daily Beast reported. Another tweet reportedly quoted former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO