{"id":17961,"date":"2020-01-13T23:23:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T23:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/01\/13\/fbi-some-saudi-military-students-being-removed-from-us-post-pensacola-shooting\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:49:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:49:48","slug":"fbi-some-saudi-military-students-being-removed-from-us-post-pensacola-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/01\/13\/fbi-some-saudi-military-students-being-removed-from-us-post-pensacola-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI: Some Saudi military students being removed from US post-Pensacola shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly two dozen Saudi Arabian military cadets who were training on American bases are being removed from the programs and being sent home in the wake of a December attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola that left three U.S. sailors dead and eight others wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Attorney General William Barr<\/a> announced the Saudi students\u2019 removal Monday during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington. Barr said there was no indication the gunman, Saudi Air Force 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani<\/a>, who was killed by a sheriff\u2019s deputy, acted in concert with other Saudi cadets or foreign nationals in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was an act of terrorism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the 21 being removed, investigators found 17 had posted anti-American or \u201cjihadi\u201d content on social media and 15 had had contact with child pornography, mostly via a chat room in which one or two images had been posted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barr said none of the content rose to the level of federal prosecution and added that the Saudi government found the material unbecoming for its officers and would assist in the event of additional investigatory needs. Of those being removed, 12 came from Pensacola while the other nine were located at Columbus Air Force Base<\/a> in Mississippi, Laughlin<\/a> and Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph<\/a> Air Force bases in Texas and Vance Air Force Base<\/a> in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are about 150 Saudi cadets in the training pipeline at Pensacola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being notified of the concerning content, \u201cthe Department of Defense worked with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to withdraw the students from training and in consultation with the Department of Justice, the DOD worked with the Saudi Embassy in the United States to return these students to Saudi Arabia,\u201d Pentagon press secretary Alyssa Farah said in a statement released Monday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the year and a half before the shooting, Alshamrani left a social media trail that indicated he\u2019d been influenced by \u201cjihadist ideology” and believed violence was necessary to defend Muslim countries. He also posted a message containing anti-American and anti-Israeli comments two hours before the attack as well as another that raised concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saudi Royal Air Force 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, the gunman behind the Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting spree. (FBI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe learned that the shooter posted a message on Sept. 11 of this year stating that the countdown has begun,\u201d Barr said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior Justice Department official said an investigation in the Southern District of New York that was opened after officials learned Alshamrani visited the 9\/11 Memorial there with friends during the Thanksgiving break did not reveal anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barr and FBI Deputy Director David Bowditch described a chilling scene in which Alshamrani arrived at a schoolhouse and cased the building, walking around and shooting others in what Barr said was \u201cin cold blood.” Alshamrani\u2019s rampage lasted 15 minutes, eight of which he was engaged by Navy security. Investigators found Alshamrani\u2019s handgun, which they previously have said he purchased legally<\/a> in July using a hunting loophole, as well as 180 rounds of ammunition. He also shot photos of President Donald Trump and a past commander in chief, Bowditch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t