OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:15 PM PT — Thursday, December 12, 2019
After last week’s deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the
Pentagon said it’s planning to step up the vetting process for foreign
military students. On Thursday, a Defense Department spokesman said the
screening process for new students will be strengthened and no new
students will be accepted until it is in place.The gunman, a Saudi aviation student, killed three sailors and injured eight others before being taken down by authorities last Friday.
“I want to discuss the recent
shootings in Pearl Harbor and Pensacola. The entire Department of
Defense is devastated. The number one priority is the safety and
security of our people and their families. Our thoughts are with the
families of those injured.”
– Jonathan Hoffman, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
“The classroom training is restricted to the Saudi students that are in the country at this time, not applying to students from other nationalities,” said Hoffman. “With regard to new students coming into the country at this time, we haven’t had any new students come in.”
The Pentagon said it’s currently investigating a number of Saudi students, who allegedly knew the shooter and have had their movement restricted on base.
