Saudi Air Force Officer Kills Three, Wounds Eight at US Naval Air Station

Saudi King expresses 'condolences' over deaths

A Saudi Air Force officer carried out an attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola, in Florida on Friday, killing three people and wounding eight others before being killed himself.

Officials are not releasing the names of any of the dead yet, but the wounded included at least two Air Force officers, and two of the sheriff’s deputies who were responding to the attack.

Motivation behind the attack is unknown at this time, and some are looking to label it an act of terror. President Trump appeared to try to downplay that, noting that the Saudi king called to express his “condolences” and say he was greatly angered by the attack.

Whatever the case, the incident seems certain to further strain the US-Saudi relationship which has already been tested over the past year by the Saudi murder of Jamal Khasoggi and attempts to cover that up.

The Saudi king has ordered full cooperation of Saudi security forces in the investigation, though it’s unclear how much information they can provide since the attack happened on US soil.

The king’s promise of cooperation is obligatory, however, because of the history of Saudi-backed terrorist attacks, particularly against the United States, and the early appearances that this shooting may have been in some way ideologically driven.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.