Navy suspends flight training for Saudi students after Pensacola shooting
The FBI says the Pensacola shooter used a hunting loophole to purchase his gun legally; Jacqui Heinrich reports.
Three GOP senators are looking into how the Saudi Arabian national who killed three Americans in a shooting at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla., was allowed into the United States.
Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, both of Florida, sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf asking how Royal Saudi Air Force 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed al-Shamrani was let into the U.S. before he killed three U.S. sailors and severely wounded eight other Americans in the Dec. 6 attack.
Attorney General William Barr said al-Shamrani was "motivated by jihadist ideology" as the U.S. was expelling 21 Saudi nationals living in America who, like al-Shamrani, trained with the U.S. military at facilities, including NAS Pensacola.
The NAS Pensacola shooter was identified as Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was a student naval flight officer of Naval Aviation Schools Command. (FBI)
"According to other reports, the Saudi government allegedly believes that al-Shamrani may have embraced a radical Islamist ideology as early as 2015, two years before he entered the United States. Just before his attack, al-Shamrani visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City," the senators' letter said.
The letter asks for a timeline of al-Shamrani's vetting, whether or not there were any red flags in documents that Saudi Arabia provided about al-Shamrani before he was let into the country and how individuals like al-Shamrani are treated differently from other foreigners coming to the U.S. on a visa, among other things.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The senators are asking for the information by Feb. 7 and a briefing by Feb. 21.
The shooting at NAS Pensacola also prompted a group of U.S. Navy instructor pilots to ask top military brass for permission to arm themselves.
Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
