SITE, a private organization that monitors and tracks extremist groups' online presence, published the text of the manifesto on Friday. While officials have yet to name the attacker, he was confirmed to be a Saudi military officer stationed at the naval air station for training. Posted on Twitter shortly before the gunman carried out the shooting, the manifesto attacked what it calls an American "war of attrition" waged on Muslims around the world, citing the US drone war and the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, where a number of terrorism suspects face indefinite detention.Either guys like this don't realize that saying things like this will only have the result of increasing the American establishment's resolve in the Middle East; or they know that's exactly what will happen, and that's why they write such things. Funny how the results of such manifestos align so well with the goals of the people behind SITE Intelligence...
"I'm not against you for just being American, I don't hate you because your freedoms," the post begins. "I hate you because every day you [support] funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity," the manifesto, attributed to the attacker, read.
The document also takes aim at Washington's unmatched defense spending which, the author argues, only provides "Americans a false sense of security," warning that they won't be "safe" until US troops withdraw from "our lands."
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The manifesto was released just as the New York Times reported that six Saudi nationals had been detained for questioning at the Pensacola naval base, some of which reportedly filmed the officer's shooting rampage, which injured eight in addition to the fatalities.
A U.S. official on December 7 also told AP that the Saudi hosted a dinner party earlier in the week in which he and three others watched videos of mass shootings.RT adds the following detail:
Federal investigators have not disclosed any motive behind the attack, which occurred on December 6 when the Saudi national is said to have opened fire with a handgun inside a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on December 7 that he was not ready to call it an act of terrorism.
Labeling an act by a Saudi national could be a sensitive topic. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia is closely allied with the United States, and Washington relies on Riyadh to be a counter to Shi'ite-led regional rival Iran.
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One of the three students who attended the dinner party videotaped outside the building while the shooting was taking place, a U.S. official told AP on condition of anonymity.
Two other Saudi students watched from a car, the official said. All three are being questioned by investigators.
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Officials said they have so far found no indications Alshamrani had links to international terrorist groups.
At least ten Saudi military students were being held at Naval Air Station Pensacola and several more were "unaccounted for" after the Friday shooting that left at least three dead and eight injured, an anonymous US official told AP on Saturday.The FBI confirmed the shooter's identity:
"The NAS Pensacola shooter is identified as Saudi national Mohammed Alshamrani," the FBI field office in Jacksonville said in a statement on Twitter, accompanying it with a photo of the attacker that has been widely circulated on social media.UPDATE (DEC 8) - #2
The US Navy also released the names of three sailors whose lives were claimed by the gunman as he went on a shooting rampage inside a classroom. All three victims were students of the Naval Aviation Schools Command.
The Navy said that the victims, identified as Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, attempted to neutralize the shooter, noting that "if not for their actions, and the actions of the Naval Security Force that were the first responders on the scene, this incident could have been much worse.""When confronted, they didn't run from danger; they ran towards it and saved lives."The FBI, which has been leading the investigation into the incident, said earlier that its Joint Task Force was involved in the process, but fell short of labeling the carnage a terrorist attack. "The shooter's motivation is still being determined," the FBI said on Saturday.
As we reported earlier, four people have been confirmed dead, including the robbers and the UPS driver, since identified as 27-year-old Frank Ordonez, who unluckily had been taken hostage on a day he was reportedly filling in for another driver. Some of his own family members are blaming the "trigger happy" Florida police for killing him in their overeagerness to stop the criminals.
An investigation is underway which will also focus on the other innocent bystander that died — an unidentified person shot while trapped at the intersection in one of the many surrounding vehicles.
"In addition to the UPS driver - who was on his knees - the innocent bystander was shot while sitting in a car waiting at the stop light in the intersection," CBS4 News in Miami reporter Jim DeFede has confirmed.
"The number of shots fired by the officers is not currently known but my source said it could exceed 200 rounds," he reported. The deceased bystander had been "inside an idle car at the scene."
DeFede concluded that though police were facing a "chaotic situation" it remains that "innocent people are dead" and "questions need to be asked".
A number of online commentators noted the dramatic scene of police immediately rushing into stalled traffic on foot and emptying their weapons in return fire appeared something more from a Hollywood action movie.
Viral video shows the UPS truck stopped amid heavy traffic with bystanders in their vehicles on either side. But the police response is now under criticism given that instead of hanging back and waiting for fewer civilians to be in the line of fire, or even establishing contact through a police negotiator, officers rushed the UPS truck in a blaze of bullets.
Police had the other option of backing off the easily identifiable and trackable large brown UPS truck in order to engage with it in a more open area.
It is as yet unclear whether a police bullet or one of the robbers actually killed Ordonez. But what is clear from overhead video is that some among the responding officers actually hid behind vehicles with bystanders and families in them, who were trying to flee as gunfire rang out.
Though in the initial press conference in the immediate aftermath the issue wasn't raised, national media is beginning to acknowledge the growing public outrage. NPR reports:Former [U.S. Department] Department of Housing and Urban Development official Brandon Friedman described the shootout as "appalling." He said the department should be held accountable for "choosing to assault the vehicle in the middle of stopped rush hour traffic" and using occupied vehicles as "human shields."From one of the overhead news chopper videos, one panicked blue SUV is seen attempting to ram its way out of being in the direct line of fire, between the suspects shooting at police and the police themselves.A family member who set up a GoFundMe page on behalf of the UPS driver victim Frank Ordonez's children and for funeral expenses, which has raised nearly 100,000 in 24 hours, had this to say:© CBSBlue SUV trying to push out of the line of fire."They [the robbers] kidnapped my brother and took him on a high speed chase, when they came to a stop he was gunned down like a criminal by the Florida police, he didn't deserve to die the way he did..."The former State Department of Housing and Urban Development official also had this to say of the botched police response: "Here are a few things that those in charge of this disaster should be held accountable for" —Astoundingly, about a half-dozen police are seen crouching behind and shadowing the vehicle for protection despite what appears to be bystanders inside trying to get away.
- Choosing to assault the vehicle
- Choosing to assault the vehicle in the middle of stopped rush hour traffic
- Using civilian cars with people *in them* as human shields
It is unknown at this point which among the vehicles had an innocent passenger shot and killed, or if it had been a police bullet or gunfire from the robbers inside the UPS truck.
The FBI is currently assisting an investigation into the incident, which involved officers from five different responding departments and agencies, most reportedly from Miami-Dade police department.
Comment: Sure, all these "once-in-a-lifetime events" are now occurring on a daily basis at some part of the globe!
See also,