Saudi king condemns 'barbaric' shooting at Florida naval base: Trump

Saudi king condemns 'barbaric' shooting at Florida naval base: Trump
Saudi Arabia's King Salman expressed his condolences over the shooting at a US naval base on Friday, according to a tweet by President Donald Trump.
2 min read
06 December, 2019
King Salman reportedly called President Trump following the shooting [Getty]

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Saudi Arabia's king had called to express condolences over what the monarch termed the "barbaric" killing of three people on a US navy base by a Saudi national.

"King Salman of Saudi Arabia just called to express his sincere condolences," Trump tweeted after the shootings in Florida.

"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," Trump added.

Trump repeated much of his comments shortly after, in remarks to reporters at the White House.

The military trainee opened fire at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, killing three people and injuring seven others, including two sheriff's deputies who responded to the attack.

The Pensacola naval air station hosts 16,000 military personnel and more than 7,000 civilians, and is home to a flight demonstration squadron.

It is an early training center for naval pilots, and is known as the "cradle of Naval aviation."

While mass shootings in the United States are common, those at military facilities are rare.

Just two days prior on Wednesday, however, a US sailor fatally shot two people and wounded a third at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii before taking his own life.

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