The mass shooting on Friday at the Pensacola Naval Air Station was already tragic, but it has now been amplified with possible terror links.
In all, authorities now have six Saudi nationals in custody and are questioning them about their ties to the shooting.
The Shooter
Fox News reported the name of the shooter as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.
Alshamrani was brought to Pensacola as part of a program for foreign military personnel.
The program was put in place to share our Navy’s culture with allies in order to develop stronger relationships.
However, that program is now coming under considerable fire, and rightfully so.
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) stated, “I’m very concerned that the shooter in Pensacola was a foreign national training on a U.S. base.
“Today, I’m calling for a full review of the U.S. military programs to train foreign nationals on American soil.
“We shouldn’t be providing military training to people who wish us harm.”
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) also stated his concerns via Twitter…
Military trainees aren’t allowed into these programs if the vetting turns up any derogatory information & our foreign partners that conducts their own vetting as well
But today’s tragic attack has exposed some serious flaw in that process which must be discovered & corrected 2/2
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 6, 2019
Must Be Held Accountable
Governor Ron DeSantis demanded Saudi Arabia make things right for these victims.
He stated, “The government of Saudi Arabia needs to make things better for these victims.
“They are going to owe a debt here given that this is one of their individuals.”
Saudi Arabia immediately offered it apologies, releasing a statement about the shooting, stating, “The perpetrator of this horrific attack does not represent the Saudi people whatsoever.
“The American people are held in the highest regard by the Saudi people.
“Building upon the strong ties between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America, and in continuation of the ongoing cooperation between the two countries’ security agencies, the Saudi security agencies will provide full support to the US authorities to investigate the circumstances of this crime.”
Personally, the statement made by Saudi Arabia means nothing to me.
My personal belief is that the relationship between the Saudi’s and our country is a one-way street, and our country is definitely on the short end of the stick here.
This program and any other like it should be immediately halted, sending current participants back home, until the vetting process can be fixed.
The man responsible for this shooting left a considerable online footprint, making negative comments about our country and its citizens, prior to the shooting.
How was this not being monitored considering the access that was given to this man?
How did he get a gun on the base?
How did he even get a gun, considering it is illegal for foreign nationals to purchase weapons?
Clearly, this goes much deeper than a one-man job and considering six people are now in custody, we cannot help but believe this was a coordinated terror attack against our country by Saudi nationals.
If that ends up being the case, Saudi Arabia must be made to pay for the actions of these men and the relationship our country has with them must clearly be re-evaluated.