WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th December, 2019) The US Navy temporarily grounded all Saudi aviation students studying at military bases in the United States following a likely terrorist-inspired mass shooting that killed three sailors and injured eight, Military.com reported.
"A safety stand-down and operational pause began Monday for some 175 Saudi Arabian students at Naval Air Stations Pensacola, Whiting Field and Mayport, all in Florida," Lieutenant Andriana Genualdi, a Navy spokesperson told the publication on Tuesday.
Following the December 6 shooting by a Saudi second lieutenant in training at Pensacola, training was suspended for all personnel.
Genualdi said some commands have resumed training, including those with international military students.
The stand-down comes as the US Navy and Federal agencies continue to investigate the shooting.
FBI officials have characterized the massacre as a presumed act of terrorism, citing a Twitter post by the shooter, Saudi second lieutenant Mohammed Alshamrani, that accused the United States of being anti-Muslim and attacked US support of Israel. Alshamrani was killed by a sheriff's deputy in a shooting exchange.
About 140 Saudi Arabian students are currently at Pensacola; the base is now training 272 students from international militaries in total, the report said.
