Student's chilling dinner party before shooting that killed three

The Saudi student who fatally shot three people at a US naval base in Florida hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings.

Officials investigating the deadly attack were working Saturday (local time) to determine whether it was motivated by terrorism, while President Donald Trump indicated he would review policies governing foreign military training in the United States.

Family members identified two of the shooting victims, both of whom were hailed as heroes for trying to stop the shooter and flagging down first responders after being shot.

The shooter opened fire inside a classroom at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday (local time), killing three people and wounding two sheriff’s deputies, one in the arm and one in the knee, before one of the deputies killed him.

Eight others were also hurt, both deputies were expected to survive.

The official who spoke Saturday (local time) said one of the three students who attended the dinner party hosted by the attacker recorded video outside the classroom building while the shooting was taking place.

Two other Saudi students watched from a car, the official said.

Ten Saudi students were being held on the base Saturday (local time) while several others were unaccounted for, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity after being briefed by federal authorities.

A US official identified the shooter as Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.

The official wasn’t authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The official also said the FBI was examining social media posts and investigating whether he acted alone or was connected to any broader group.

Two US officials identified the student as a second lieutenant in the Saudi Air Force, and said that authorities were investigating whether the attack was terrorism-related.

Defence secretary Mark Esper was asked whether he could say definitively that the shooting was an act of terrorism.

“No, I can’t say it’s terrorism at this time,” he said, adding that the investigation needs to proceed, declining to discuss further details of the investigation.

President Trump also declined to say whether the shooting was terrorism-related.

The president tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims on Friday (local time) and noted that Saudi King Salman had reassured him in a telephone call that the shooter “in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people”.

But in comments echoing those made earlier by Mr Esper, Mr Trump said that he would review policies governing foreign military training in the US.

The US has long had a robust training program for Saudis, providing assistance in the US and in the kingdom. Currently, more than 850 Saudis are in the United States for various training activities.

They are among more than 5000 foreign students from 153 countries in the US going through military training.

“This has been done for many decades, I guess we’re going to have to look into the whole procedure,” Mr Trump said.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan National Defence Forum in Simi Valley, California, on Saturday (local time), Mr Esper and others downplayed any initial impact on US-Saudi ties.

Asked whether he would now hesitate to send US forces to Saudi Arabia, he said, “No, not at all.”

He said the US and Saudi Arabia have shared security interests, especially with regard to Iran.

The kingdom is still trying to recover from the killing last year of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Naval Air Station Pensacola is one of the Navy’s most historic and storied bases. It sprawls along the waterfront southwest of the city’s downtown and dominates the economy of the surrounding area.

Part of the base resembles a college campus, with buildings where, in addition to foreign students, 60,000 members of the US Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard train each year in multiple fields of aviation.

The base will remain closed until further notice.

Residents of Pensacola mourned the attacks and offered their condolences to affected members of the community.

Family members on Saturday (local time) identified one of the victims as a 23-year-old recent graduate of the US Naval Academy who alerted first responders to where the shooter was even after he had been shot several times.

“Joshua Kaleb Watson saved countless lives today with his own,” his older brother Adam Watson wrote on Facebook.

“He died a hero and we are beyond proud.”

A second victim was identified as Mohammed “Mo” Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida, who joined the Navy after graduating from high school last year, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Haitham’s mother, Evelyn Brady, herself a Navy veteran, said the commander of her son’s school called her and told her Haitham had tried to stop the shooter.

The former track and field star had been assigned to flight crew training and was looking forward to graduating from the program later this month, Brady said.

“He said he was going to get his flight jacket for Christmas, now that’s not going to happen,” she said.

The shooting is the second at a US naval base in one week.

A sailor whose submarine was docked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, opened fire on three civilian employees Wednesday (local time), killing two before taking his own life.

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