On December 6, news breaking headlines poured onto every major outlet and was updated as a naval shooting story developed. In total, four people were left dead, and many others were wounded after a shooting Friday morning at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.
The suspect, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, who is now deceased due to a firefight with Escambia County Sheriffs, was a member of the Saudi Air Force and an aviation student at the base, officials confirmed with CBS News on Friday afternoon.
The Pentagon told the network “the [21-year-old] shooter had been in the country since August 2017 pursuant to a U.S. Air Force Foreign Military Sales training case funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
NowThis News’ outdated story highlights the base’s commanding officer, Capt. Timothy Kinsella Jr.’s sentiments declining to comment on “whether he [the suspect] was a serviceman, or if he thought the incident was being investigated as an act of terrorism.”
Since its initial reporting, the Washington Post reported, “Officials are treating the shooting as an act of terrorism and are trying to learn whether the gunman was working as part of a larger network when he opened fire…”
Rep. Matt Gaetz also fired off a tweet saying the Pensacola shooting “was an act of terrorism.”
Going one step further, the Representative for Florida’s First District appeared on Pensacola’s WEAR-TV in an interview where he said, “FBI’s involvement in the investigation into the shooting indicated the case was being treated as terrorism…”
This was not a murder. This was an act of terrorism. pic.twitter.com/AJfTQOOE68
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) December 6, 2019
The same author that published the original breaking news regarding the shooting at 12:48 p.m. also co-authored and published two other stories later that day, one on Biden’s spat at a campaign event over an Iowan’s concern over Hunter Biden’s Ukranian business dealings at 2:38 p.m., and one regarding Willie Nelson giving up his marijuana use at 4:38 p.m..
Since then, NowThis News has not updated its story to reflect the potential case of terrorism inside one of America’s Naval centers. President Trump has also personally commented on the ruthless attack on Twitter.
….The King said that the Saudi people are greatly angered by the barbaric actions of the shooter, and that this person in no way shape or form represents the feelings of the Saudi people who love the American people.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2019
Marissa Martinez is a political contributor for Accuracy in Media. She is the former political director to Massachusetts Governor’s re-election campaign, alumna of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and political consultant to national PACs. Follow her stories, @MarissaAlisa
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