Lawsuit blames Saudi Arabia for deadly 2019 attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola
February 22
The main gate at Naval Air Station Pensacola is seen March 16, 2016, in Pensacola, Fla. (Patrick Nichols/Navy)
WASHINGTON — Victims of a 2019 shooting at a Florida military base and their families are suing Saudi Arabia, claiming the kingdom knew the gunman had been radicalized and that it could have prevented the killings.
The suit, filed Monday, also claims that Saudi trainees knew in advance about plans for the shooting but did nothing to stop it.
The suit centers on the Dec. 6, 2019, shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in which Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani shot and killed three U.S. sailors. It comes nine months after U.S. officials revealed that Alshamrani, a Saudi Air Force officer, had communicated with al-Qaida operatives about planning and tactics in the weeks leading up to the attack and that he had been radicalized abroad before coming to the U.S. to participate in a military training program.