Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
FBI Says Texas Naval Base Shooting Is 'Terrorism-Related'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
May 22, 2020

Share

A shooting at a Texas naval air station that wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead early Thursday was being investigated as “terrorism-related,” the FBI said, but divulged few details as to why.

The suspect was identified as Adam Alsahli of Corpus Christi, according to three officials familiar with the investigation who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

At about 6:15 a.m., the gunman tried to speed through a security gate at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, opening fire and wounding the sailor, a member of base security, U.S. officials told the AP. But she was able to roll over and hit the switch that raised a barrier, preventing the man from getting onto the base, the officials said.

Other security personnel shot and killed the man.

There was an initial concern that he may have an explosive device, but Navy experts swept the area and the car and found nothing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details about an ongoing investigation. Officials were still working to process the crime scene late into the day and had recovered some type of electronic media.

Later, federal agents were seen carrying items from inside a house that a Corpus Christi police tactical unit had surrounded and a public records search by local television station KRIS indicated was Alsahli’s last known address. A police spokesman would not confirm that the activity was related to the shooting at the Naval station.

The base was on lockdown for about five hours, but it was lifted shortly before noon. The main gate was reopened, though the gate where the incident occurred was still shut down.

FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Leah Greeves said at a news conference that investigators were working to determine whether a second person of interest was at large but did not elaborate. She also would not discuss a potential motive or specify what led investigators to believe the shooting was related to terrorism.

“We have determined that the incident this morning at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is terrorism related,” Greeves said. “We are working diligently with our state, local and federal partners on this investigation, which is fluid and evolving.”

No International or Foreign National Students at the Texas Base

The FBI’s field office in Houston has taken the lead on the investigation, and neither investigators nor the Navy provided details on the shooter or a possible motive. Attorney General William Barr has also been briefed, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.

The injured sailor was discharged from a hospital where she was treated for minor injuries, according to a statement from the command.

The air station is surrounded by water on three sides and is home to Naval pilot training since 1941, according to its website. Marine Corps, Navy, U.S. Coast Guard student pilots train there. It’s also home to the Corpus Christi Army Depot, a depot for the Department of Defense rotary-wing aircraft.

The station had a similar lockdown last December. In another incident at the base last year, a man pleaded guilty to the destruction of U.S. government property and possession of a stolen firearm for ramming his truck into a barricade at the Corpus Christi station.

The shooting also comes months after a Saudi Air Force officer who was training at a Navy base in Pensacola, Florida, killed three U.S. sailors and wounded eight other people in a shooting that American officials described as an act of terrorism. The country’s top federal law enforcement officials said this week that the gunman in December’s attack, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, had been in touch with al-Qaida operatives about planning and tactics in the months before the shooting. Alshamrani was killed by a sheriff’s deputy.

According to U.S. officials, unlike Pensacola, there are no international or foreign national students at the Texas base. The military put a number of new safety procedures in place after the Pensacola shooting to restrict and better screen international students.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

California Woman Arrested in Russia Freed in Prisoner Swap: What We Know

DON'T MISS

Trump Has Added 145% Tariff to China, White House Clarifies

DON'T MISS

The House Passed a Requirement to Prove US Citizenship to Vote. This Is How It Could Affect Voting

DON'T MISS

Israel Releases 10 Palestinians Detained From Gaza. They Say They Suffered Abuse

DON'T MISS

Merced Revises Flag Policy After Debate. ‘I Just Don’t See That as the Role of Government’

DON'T MISS

International Students at UC Merced, CSU Among Those Seeing Visas Revoked

DON'T MISS

Fresno Two-Vehicle Crash Causes Power Outage, Traffic Backup Near Fruit and Herndon

DON'T MISS

House Narrowly Passes GOP Budget Plan With Trump Tax Cuts

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Leal Ray Simmons

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Will Conduct DUI Patrols on Saturday

UP NEXT

Wood Has 2 Homers as Nats Win For First Home Series Victory Over Dodgers Since 2014

UP NEXT

Giants Suffer Second Straight Shutout Loss to Reds

UP NEXT

Curry Scores 25 as the Warriors Cruise Past the Suns in West Playoff Race

UP NEXT

Man Pleads Guilty to Trying to Assassinate Justice Kavanaugh

UP NEXT

Trump Administration to Roll Back Array of Gun Control Measures

UP NEXT

This Is Who Trump Has Targeted for Retribution

UP NEXT

Signs of a More Buyer-Friendly Housing Market Emerge for Spring

UP NEXT

Castellanos’ Grand Slam Helps Phillies Beat Dodgers, Take 2 of 3 From World Series Champions

UP NEXT

Appeals Court Reverses Trump Firings of 2 Board Members

UP NEXT

Trump Tells People to Be Patient as Global Markets Keep Dropping Over Tariffs

Israel Releases 10 Palestinians Detained From Gaza. They Say They Suffered Abuse

2 hours ago

Merced Revises Flag Policy After Debate. ‘I Just Don’t See That as the Role of Government’

2 hours ago

International Students at UC Merced, CSU Among Those Seeing Visas Revoked

2 hours ago

Fresno Two-Vehicle Crash Causes Power Outage, Traffic Backup Near Fruit and Herndon

2 hours ago

House Narrowly Passes GOP Budget Plan With Trump Tax Cuts

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Leal Ray Simmons

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Will Conduct DUI Patrols on Saturday

3 hours ago

Visalia Motorcyclist Ejected in Early Morning Crash

3 hours ago

Luka Doncic Scores 45 Points in Dallas Return as Lakers Clinch Playoff Spot

3 hours ago

Teoscar Hernández Homers and Drives in 3 as Dodgers Defeat Nationals to Avoid Sweep

4 hours ago

California Woman Arrested in Russia Freed in Prisoner Swap: What We Know

LOS ANGELES — Moscow has freed a Russian American convicted of treason in exchange for a Russian German man jailed on smuggling charges in t...

16 minutes ago

Ksenia Karelina, also known as Khavana sits in a glass cage in a court room in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP File)
16 minutes ago

California Woman Arrested in Russia Freed in Prisoner Swap: What We Know

President Donald signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. White House officials clarified on Thursday that the 125% tariff on goods from China announced on Wednesday was in addition to a 20% tariff added since President Donald Trump returned to office — and on top of other preexisting levies he already put in place. (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
52 minutes ago

Trump Has Added 145% Tariff to China, White House Clarifies

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
1 hour ago

The House Passed a Requirement to Prove US Citizenship to Vote. This Is How It Could Affect Voting

Palestinians receive humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)
2 hours ago

Israel Releases 10 Palestinians Detained From Gaza. They Say They Suffered Abuse

Merced's Bob Hart Square in the city's downtown is shown on April 9, 2025 (The Merced FOCUS)
2 hours ago

Merced Revises Flag Policy After Debate. ‘I Just Don’t See That as the Role of Government’

UC Merced, CSU confirm student visa revocations amid national crackdown tied to pro-Palestinian protests. (The Merced Focus/UC Merced)
2 hours ago

International Students at UC Merced, CSU Among Those Seeing Visas Revoked

Fresno police are seeking two suspects who stole several boxes of shoes from the WSS store on East Cesar Chavez Boulevard on February 20, 2025.
2 hours ago

Fresno Two-Vehicle Crash Causes Power Outage, Traffic Backup Near Fruit and Herndon

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., takes questions on tariffs while meeting with reporters at a news conference, at the Capitol, in Washington, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
2 hours ago

House Narrowly Passes GOP Budget Plan With Trump Tax Cuts

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend