Sheriff confirms death of shooter in US naval base attack

Four people including a suspected shooter were left dead at Naval Air Station Pensacola, a US Navy base in Florida, while others were taken to hospitals with injuries during an incident on Friday, authorities said.

An “active shooter” was encountered on the base on Friday morning, according to the Escambia County sheriff’s office. A few minutes later, the shooter was dead, according to the sheriff’s office and the Navy.

A US official said the shooting suspect was an aviation student from Saudi Arabia.

Military from around the globe attend the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.

President Trump said he had spoken to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, who offered his condolences to the victims of the Florida naval base attack.

Trump also quoted King Salman as describing the shooting at the US base as “barbaric.”

The assault, which ended when a sheriff’s deputy killed the attacker, was the second fatal shooting at a US Navy base this week and prompted a massive law enforcement response and base lockdown.

Twelve people were hurt in the attack, including the two sheriff’s deputies who were the first to respond, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.

One of the deputies was shot in the arm and the other in the knee, and both were expected to recover, he said.

The base, which is near Florida’s border with Alabama, is a major training site for the Navy and home to its aerobatic flight demonstration squadron the Blue Angels.

The base employs more than about 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel, according to the base’s website.