Active Shooter: Gunman Opens Fire At Naval Air Station In Pensacola, Florida

A Saudi national armed with a handgun opened fire on a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola (Florida) killing three people before he was shot to death by sheriff’s deputies in the second fatal shooting at a U.S. military installation this week.

Eight other people were injured, including two Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies who exchanged gunfire with the shooter. One of the deputies was shot in the arm and the other, in the leg. Both are expected to recover.

Officials described the shooting as an isolated incident.

Gov. Ron DeSantis identified the gunman as a member of the Saudi air force and called on the Saudi government “to make things better” for the victims.

DeSantis said he spoke with the president, who later tweeted Saudi King Salman was outraged by the shooting and condemned it as “barbaric.”

“This is a dark day for a very great place,” said DeSantis, who is a Navy veteran. “It not only strikes at the heart here in northwest Florida, but throughout the Navy nationwide and throughout the world.”

The base, which has been used to train foreign nationals as well as U.S. pilots going back to World War II, was placed on indefinite lockdown.

Investigators from the FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have taken over the lead in the investigation, restricting the amount of information that can be released, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.

“This has been a very, very difficult day for us,” said Capt. Timothy Kinsella, the base commander. “There was some real heroism today,” he added, describing the people who ran in to help after the shooting started.

“This shows the best of who we are,” Morgan agreed. “When the call went out, you didn’t need to look behind you to see who was following you through that door.”

“I can tell you lives were saved because of the response of people both in uniform with the Navy and in uniform with Escambia County Sheriff’s Office,” DeSantis said. “In one of the darkest days, I think, in the base’s history, you still saw some of that bravery and grit come out.”

Jana Lormer, who was at her grandmother’s home across the bayou from the base, told the Washington Post the shooting “was too close for comfort.”

“You just don’t expect this to happen at home," Morgan said. "This doesn’t happen in Escambia County. This doesn’t happen in Pensacola. This doesn’t happen to our friends and neighbors who are members of the United States Navy. But it did. And it has. And so for now, we’re here to pick up the pieces.”

On Wednesday, a sailor upset about his commanders opened fire at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam near Honolulu, killing two people before killing himself.

NAS Pensacola, the home of the Blue Angels, employs 16,000 military personnel and 7,400 civilians, and serves as a training facility for Navy and Marine pilots, the base’s website says. The site also features a notice saying base personnel are not allowed to carry weapons unless “necessary to the proper performance of his or her duty or as may be authorized by proper authority.”

Kinsella confirmed weapons are not “authorized” on base.

Watch the news conference below: