Shooter at US base showed mass shooting videos at party
He killed 3 sailors and injured 8 others
MIAMI: The Saudi military student who carried out a deadly shooting spree at a US naval base showed videos of mass shootings at a dinner party the night before the attack, media reported on Saturday.
The shooting on Friday in a classroom building at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida killed three sailors and wounded eight other people, including two sheriff's deputies, before police shot dead the assailant.
The dinner party revelation came as authorities probed whether the shooter had any accomplices.
"We're finding out what took place, whether it's one person or a number of people," President Donald Trump told reporters.
"We'll get to the bottom of it very quickly."
The FBI formally identified the attacker as Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and a student naval flight officer.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist media, said he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read: "I'm against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil.
"I hate you because every day you (are) supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity."
The Twitter account that posted the manifesto - which also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote from Al-Qaeda's deceased leader Osama bin Laden - has been suspended.
The shooter did not have any apparent ties to terror groups and no group has officially claimed the attack, the Times reported, citing an unnamed senior American official.
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has denounced the shooting as a "heinous crime" and said the gunman "does not represent the Saudi people."
The shooting marks a setback in the kingdom's efforts to cast off its longstanding reputation for promoting religious extremism after the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.
Prince Khalid bin Salman, the king's younger son and the Deputy Defence Minister, offered his "sincerest condolences" to the families of the victims.
Mr Trump said King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would "help out the families very greatly," though he did not specify how. - AFP
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