After Florida shooting, Saudi military trainees to be expelled from US

The United States to expel more than a dozen Saudi military trainees training at US military bases, international media reported. The Pentagon review came after the deadly December 6 shooting by a Saudi serviceman at an American naval base in Florida. International media reported that the Saudi military personnel being expelled are not in any way connected to the shooting at the Pensacola naval base.

Read: Six Saudi Nationals Detained In Connection To Pensacola Naval Base Shooting

On December 10, 2019, the Pentagon announced that it was halting all operational training of Saudi Arabian military personnel in the United States. Then on December 19, the Pentagon announced that it found no threat in its review of approximately 850 Saudi Arabian students studying in the United States. The FBI confirmed that the Saudi Air Force second lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani acted alone in the shooting that killed four people including the shooter. 

Florida shooting

The gunman was in the United States for a training program which he was receiving at Pensacola naval base. Mohammed Alshamrani was in the United States since 2017 and was part of a group of some 200 foreign students receiving training at the Pensacola naval base. The shooter was receiving basic aviation, initial pilot training, and English classes at the base. 

Read: Saudi Man Involved In US Naval Base Shooting Assailed America As 'nation Of Evil'

The United States SITE intelligence group had earlier said that the shooter from Saudi Arabia bashed America as a "nation of evil" prior to the attack. SITE said that the shooter who killed three people posted a short manifesto on twitter prior to opening fire at the Pensacola naval base. The shooter in his tweet branded America as a nation of evil. The shooter further added that his hate for America is not motivated by the freedoms they enjoy, but by the crimes they are committing against Muslims and also humanity as a whole. 

Read: US Navy Suspends Flight Training For Saudi Students After Florida Shooting

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and expressed his sorrow and grief to the President of the United States, Donald Trump. The King also offered condolences to families of the victims. After the attack, President Donald Trump on Twitter said, the Saudi King called him to express his solidarity and also said that the people of the Kingdom does not support the barbaric attack. 

Read: Saudi King Expresses Sorrow Over US Naval Base Shooting, Pledges Cooperation