Saudis Devastated over Florida Naval Base Shooting: Trump

Washington, Dec 8 (PTI) The Saudi King and the Crown Prince are devastated over the shooting by a Saudi air force trainee at a US naval base in Florida this week that resulted in the death of three and injury to eight others, President Donald Trump said Saturday.

The gunman identified as Mohammed Alshamrani, a Saudi national and a member of the country's air force who was in the US for flight training, also died in the exchange of fire.

"I spoke with the king of Saudi Arabia. They are devastated in Saudi Arabia. We're finding out what took place, whether it's one person or a number of people, and the king will be involved in taking care of families and loved ones. He feels very strongly. He's very very devastated by what happened, by what took place," Trump told reporters in the South lawns of the White House.

"Likewise, the Crowned Prince. They are devastated by what took place in Pensacola and I think they're going to help out the families very greatly," he said.

"But right now, they send their condolences and, as you know, I've sent my condolences. It's a very shocking thing. And we'll get to the bottom of it very quickly,” he said.

Trump said that the United States has been training the security forces of other countries for many decades. "We've been doing this with other countries -- foreign countries. I guess we're going to have to look into the whole procedure. We'll start that immediately," he said.

Following the shooting at the US naval air base early this week, US lawmakers have been calling for a review of military programs to train foreign nationals.

"Today, I'm calling for a full review of the U.S. military programs to train foreign nationals on American soil. There is no reason we should be providing state-of-the-art military training to people who wish us harm," said Senator Rick Scott.

There is no reason to risk the safety and security of American men and women in uniform, he said. Scott said he is extremely concerned by the reports that this shooter was a foreign national training on a US military base in Florida.

"Whether this individual was motivated by radical Islam or was simply mentally unstable, this was an act of terrorism. It's clear that we need to take steps to ensure that any and all foreign nationals are scrutinized and vetted extensively before being embedded with our American men and women in uniform," Scott said.

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