Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - BONUS: Was the shootings at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida an act of terrorism?

Episode Date: December 10, 2019

A 21-year-old second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and a student naval flight officer, opens fire on classmates. Three Navy sailors, as well as the shooter Mohammed Alshamrani, are dead. The FBI is investigation. Is it an act of terrorism?Joining Nancy Grace to discuss:Ashley Willcott, Judge and trial attorney, Anchor on Court TV, www.ashleywillcott.com James Shelnutt - 27 years Atlanta Metro Major Case detective, SWAT Officer (RET) AttorneyBethany Marshall Psychologist, www.drbethanymarshall.comDr Tim Gallagher Medical Examiner for State Of FloridaAmanda Hall, reporter WINK TV Ft Myers, Florida Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Chaos inside a naval air station in Pensacola. The mass shooting shocking the military base. Tonight, ABC News has confirmed the gunman was Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a member of the Saudi Air Force in the U.S. for flight training. The FBI investigating terrorism as a possible motive. A tight-knit community reeling.

It doesn't happen to our friends and neighbors who are members of the United States Navy. But it did. And it has. The first call for help coming in at 6.51 a.m. I have one Navy officer shot multiple times. The base locked down. Police raced to the scene within five minutes. Authorities say the shooter moved through two floors of a classroom building, an area of the base where weapons are not allowed. Can I have you give me an update on possible patient counts?

Over 10 patients confirmed. The gunman reportedly moved through the building armed with a semi-automatic handgun, leaving a trail of carnage with officers chasing. What did it look like? It looked like a war zone. You know, there was rounds everywhere. Four sheriff's deputies coming face-to-face with the gunman, engaging in a shootout. Two officers hit, one shot in the arm, the other in the knee. Despite being shot, returning fire, the accused gunman killed.

Today we're learning so much more about the Saudi airman who murdered three at a naval trading center in Pensacola, Florida, having filed a complaint earlier against a flight instructor who called him porn stash over his bushy mustache he wore. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Right now, we are combing through the clues left behind. A Saudi Pensacola shooter infuriated after an instructor gave him the moniker Porn Stash. The incident goes down at the Naval Air Station there in Pensacola, Florida. Joining me in our all-star panel, Ashley Wilcott, judge, trial lawyer at AshleyWilcott.com. James Sheldon, 27 years, major case, SWAT, now lawyer.

Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst out of L.A. You can find her at DrBethanyMarshall.com. The medical examiner for the state of Florida, Dr. Tim Gallagher. But straight to Amanda Hall joining us, reporter with WINK-TV, Fort Myers. Amanda, what happened? Nancy, the gunman is dead and the investigation is continuing. Just last night, you know, our governor was talking about this, calling it an act of terrorism. This happened inside of a classroom at a Navy base, really the home of aviation.

And it's a very popular tourist attraction, too, really the home of aviation. And it's a very popular tourist attraction too for the state of Florida. That's where the museum is. This happened on base inside of a, you know, it's a tiered security system for people to get on and off. And so for something like this to happen, it is really shocked the entire state of Florida. Take a listen to an eyewitness. This is Jeff Burgosch, who was a contractor there. Listen. Well, it's been pretty surreal. I've worked out here as a contractor employee for about 15 years for various contracts out here. And this morning was like no other.

I mean, you know, your regular Friday coming on board the base at about 10 till 7. And then suddenly everything went gridlock. All the traffic came to a complete stop. And then Navy Boulevard, which is the artery coming aboard the station, became a parking lot. And the traffic going the other direction suddenly was overwhelmed. I saw at least 50, probably more police vehicles, ambulances, SWAT teams coming, screaming down the opposite side of the road. And, of course, I was worried about my employees that were on the base. Half of us were on the way to work. Half of us had already got there.

So just a lot of chaos. But I can tell you, I'm proud to report, we had an overwhelming response to this. The community came to the aid of the station, and just amazing, the overwhelming response. But as you hear in the background, they're still speaking over the station's loudspeaker. We've seen fire ambulances go by. We've seen emergency vehicles. I've seen at least two lifelike helicopters. So unfortunately, I know there's multiple shootings, multiple casualties, and we're just praying for all the victims. What a horrible scene that developed our friends at

MSNBC. But now take a listen to reporter Blaine Alexander. Chilling new details about the man investigators believe carried it out. Law enforcement officials tell NBC News in the past week, the shooter, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi national, invited three other Saudis to his home for dinner, where he showed them videos of mass shootings. Officials say he regularly socialized with the three, but after a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, he returned more pious and was no longer interested in hanging out with them. Officials do not believe they were involved and say Alshamrani acted alone. Those same officials confirm the handgun used in Friday's attack was legally purchased from a gun dealer in Pensacola,

typically illegal for a non-citizen, but Alshamrani exploited a loophole that allowed him to buy it because he has a hunting license. Officials are not confirming this as an act of terrorism, but believe a social media post declaring America's love for Israel and hatred for Islam was written by Alshamrani. We're learning more about those in the gunman's path. Among them, Ryan Blackwell, an assistant wrestling coach, and Charles Hogue, a police officer on base, both recovering tonight. And 23-year-old Joshua Caleb Watson, who never made it home. In a touching Facebook post, his brother describes Watson's final moments. After being shot multiple

times, he made it outside and told the first response team where the shooter was. Those details were invaluable. He died a hero. Three people dead. Straight out to Amanda Hall, WINK-TV. Where does the investigation stand right now? Nancy, that base is still a crime scene. The FBI is on scene. They're analyzing

footage from both surveillance cameras around the base, as well as cell phone footage taken by bystanders as the shooting was unfolding. And we know they have many interviews left to conduct. We know as of Saturday, at least 10 Saudi Arabian flight students were being questioned and interviewed. And we know that they're looking at what was he doing in the days leading up to this. We know that he took a trip to New York. He visited the 9-11 memorial while he was there. And the night before the shooting, he hosted some fellow students for dinner and showed video of mass shootings. Oh, my stars.

To Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst joining us from L.A. You can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. What do you make of all of his behavior leading up to the shooting? I'm referring to Ahmed Mohamed Alshamrani. Well, what I make of it is that lone wolf terrorists and mass murders have quite a bit in common. Lone wolf terrorists are less likely to tell other people before committing the event. So bringing friends to dinner, showing pictures of mass murders, sort of bragging about this would be more in line with the mass murder. However, he moved all the way to the United States to

conscript into the service. And we know that lone wolf terrorists actually use geospatial distance to gain proximity to the victims. I don't know what you mean by that, geospatial distance. Geospatial, they tend to move from one country to the next. They won't commit the crime in their own country because they don't hate their own people, but they will move from one continent to another to infiltrate the people that they hate in order to commit the murders. What do we know about al-Shomrani's movements leading up to the terror shooting. Law enforcement officials say they're continuing to follow leads that may help them understand exactly why the gunman opened fire here at the Naval Air Station. Authorities say they're taking a look at his

social media footprint, his writings online where he expressed anti-America hate, his phone records, but also his classmates. This morning, several classmates of the Naval Air Station Pensacola gunmen are now undergoing FBI questioning after Friday's deadly attack. The Saudi National, part of a training program for international military personnel here in the U.S., opened fire, killing three U.S. Navy sailors and injuring eight others, including law enforcement officers. Investigators looking into whether the attack was motivated by terror. The FBI now retracing the steps of 21-year-old Mohammed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force,

including a recent trip to New York City where he visited several attractions. That visit now believed to be tourist in nature. trip to New York City wh attractions that visit no in nature. Alshamrani kill and Saint Joshua Watson, Mohammed Salma Hytham and apprentice Cameron Walters at the Naval Aviation sch shooter then exchanging gu

deputies who eventually ki killed him. Do you believe the threat in your community has been eliminated? Right now, I'm not prepared to make a statement affirmatively or negatively on that. You know, we're in consultation with the FBI, but I have additional questions that I want to answer. You're hearing from our friends at ABC's GMA. That was reporter Stephanie Ramos. So to Amanda Hall, reporter of WINK-TV, what do we know? We know that he went to New York City, went to the 9-1-1 memorial. He had a watch party just before the shooting. How many people came?

How close to the shooting was the watch party? And what did they watch, Amanda? Well, this is disturbing, Nancy. That trip to New York, although the report said it was tourism in nature, was two days before he committed this heinous act. So to see the 9-11 memorial and to look at the pictures of those hijackers two days before this, you know, whether you can really make the connection or not, it's still disturbing. And then the night before he hosts three other Saudi flight students for dinner and shows videos of other mass shootings

the night before. This happened in the morning of Friday, Friday morning, so this would have been Thursday night. So he hosted three other Saudi students there at the flight school for dinner and a mass shooting video fest. I understand there are 10 Saudi international flight students still under FBI questioning. Is that correct, Amanda? That is. As of Saturday, they were still being held for questioning. What could be a possible motive, Amanda Hall? What, if anything, have we learned? Well, we've learned that he had writings on social media, on Twitter, where he was quoting Osama bin Laden. There was a manifesto posted right before the shooting, calling America a nation of evil, saying he hated America for crimes against Muslims and hated America for crimes against humanity. Hated America for crimes against Muslims.

How the hey, did he even get in? Amanda, I don't understand it. Well, it's not unusual. There are a lot of foreigners who train with the U.S. military. But you are led to believe that they are well vetted by their own countries. Of course, he had a visa and that they are well vetted when they get here. Certainly that is something right now that our Department of Defense is looking at. Another question I have is how the hey did he get a weapon?

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Typically to you, James Shelnut, 27 years Atlanta Metro Major Case, SWAT officer, now lawyer. What do you normally have to do to get a weapon in this country? You know, if you're a citizen, you know, it depends. You know, you can obviously go buy a weapon if you're of age to do it and you're not otherwise disqualified. It's very easy. You know, the question is, how does a foreign national get a weapon when they're not a citizen? And there is a freak law that allows foreign nationals to obtain a gun for the purposes of hunting while they're here in this country. The bothersome part of that is that not a lot of people do game hunting with a.45 caliber Glock, which is what this guy bought.

A.45 caliber Glock. You're so right. That is not a hunting weapon. Take a listen to our friend Morgan Radford at NBC News. As the investigation unfolds, there are still many questions unanswered. Was it terrorism? Is it safe now? Do we have everybody identified? Law enforcement officials tell NBC News that the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, a Saudi Arabian national, returned from a visit back home in February, more pious than ever before.

And they say last week, he invited three Saudi friends to his home for dinner, where they watched videos of mass shootings. Officials do not believe the friends were involved and say they think al-Shumrami acted alone. NBC News has learned that he legally purchased the gun used in the attack from a dealer in Pensacola. Non-citizens normally cannot buy handguns, but al-Shumrami exploited a loophole that lets foreigners with a hunting license obtain them. That hurts me so much to know. Our laws were used against us. Ashley Wilcott, judge, trial lawyer, Anchor Court TV at AshleyWilcott.com. Wait in. Nancy, you know, I can't even begin to say how much it frustrates me. And this happens with different laws on the books in

different states and the federal laws, the loopholes. And the reality is those who are drafting laws and then voting on laws have got to make certain and do a much better job at ensuring there are no loopholes to allow people like this who aren't even citizens to get the firearms to commit crimes. Well, apparently we have figured out something the FBI is still trying to figure out, and that's how he got a gun. Take a listen to CBS reporter David Benet. This morning, the FBI is trying to determine how a foreign national obtained a handgun, which is prohibited by law, and brought it onto the base. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, someone matching Alshamrani's identity had an extensive online

footprint. In a Twitter post, the writer says, oh, American people, I hate you because every day you supporting funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims, but also humanity. As of this morning, federal officials are not saying what happened here was an act of terror. We are not prepared at this hour to confirm what may have motivated the shooter to commit this horrific act today. Investigators are looking for any signs of radicalization going back to al-Shamrani's upbringing in Saudi Arabia. King Salman of Saudi Arabia called President Trump after the shooting. The king said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter and that this person in no way, shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people. And a hall reporter, WINK-TV, at least one student was, we think anyway, recording as the shooting transpired.

What can you tell us about that? Yes, Nancy, at least one, possibly two students were recording when the shooting unfolded. What remains to be seen is whether either of these people were recording before it happened to indicate that they knew that this was going to happen, or if this is something that started to unfold and they did what a lot of people do these days, and they pulled out their cell phones and hit record as it was unfolding and during the chaos that ensued on that naval. Well, Amanda Hall, that's very, very disturbing. I never thought that they may have been recording before the shooting broke out. How do you know that they're searching the video for that? Well, we know that that's one of the

things that the FBI is looking at. And we know because it was released during press conferences over the weekend, that that's something that they're still looking at. All indications at this point today are that the recordings were that of a bystander who saw something happening, pulled out a cell phone and hit record. I'd be curious to find out, Amanda Hall, if one of the people that recorded the shooting were one of the people he had over the very night before the shooting. And you say the shooting was on a Friday and he had them over for dinner that Thursday night? Yes, that is. That is one of the people, one of the bystanders I was just referring to,

were with the shooter the night before. And, you know, were shown the videos of the mass shootings at that dinner party, if you will. So one of the people recording the shooting were one of the same of the Saudi students that were at his home the night before? Correct, Nancy. You also have to bear in mind, though, that these are, you know, his colleagues. They are people who maybe should have been right in that place right at the same time, inconsequentially, because they were, you know, taking classes together, and because they were comrades. I'd also be curious, Amanda Hall, as to where that student that was recording was during the shooting. Were they hiding? Were they out in the open, knowing they wouldn't get shot? That's interesting, Nancy. The best indication that we have right now is that one of the people who recorded was outside of the classroom.

We don't know what kind of position they were in, if they were hiding, if they knew that there would be something going on inside, so they were outside. That's something that the FBI is going to be looking at very, very closely. The other possible video from one of the people that was at that mass shooting watch party the night before seems to have come from a vehicle that wasn't in the direct proximity. So that will be very interesting and all things that we have to just be patient and wait for as the FBI confirms information. So, Amanda, you're telling me, with me, Amanda Hall, investigative reporter, WINK-TV, Fort Myers. Amanda, you're telling me that two of the people that were recording the mass shooting were, in fact, two of the students over at Ahmed Mohamed Alshmani's home the night before.

Two of the recorders ate dinner with him the night before? Yes, the defense secretary says one or two Saudi nationals were recording. And you believe they were the ones over at dinner? Yes, the defense secretary confirmed that. He said that they were part of that group who not only were at that dinner, they're part of the group who went to New York a couple of days before whoa so they went to New York with him to the 9-1-1 memorial we believe and then had the mass shooting video fest the night before at his home let me ask you this Amanda Hall W-I-N-K

at this juncture is the working theory that Alshamrani worked alone? That's the best information that we have from the FBI. We know that there are more than 100 FBI personnel working this between different field offices. But right now, we're being told that there is no indication that he had help and that he is not connected to a larger group or network. I'm sure that the families of Airman Muhammad Sameh Haytham, just 19, Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, just 21, and Ensign Joshua Caleb Watson, just 23, are anxiously awaiting the truth through their grief. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart podcast