FBI Suspects Terrorism in Base Shooting

Man was killed after wounding sailor in Corpus Christi
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 21, 2020 5:03 PM CDT
Naval Base Shooting Is Tied to Terrorism: FBI
The entrances to the Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi are closed following an active shooter threat Thursday.   (Annie Rice/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)

A shooting at a Texas naval air station that wounded a sailor and left the gunman dead is being investigated as "terrorism-related," the FBI said Thursday. The shooting began around 6:15am at Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi. The shooter tried to speed through a gate at the base in a vehicle, but security personnel put up a barrier in time to stop him, US officials said. The man then got out of the car and opened fire, striking and wounding a Navy sailor who is a member of the security force at the base, the AP reports. During the exchange of gunfire, the shooter was killed by security personnel, the officials said. Investigators were working to determine whether a second person of interest was at large in the community.

"We have determined that the incident this morning at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is terrorism related," FBI Special Agent Leah Greeves said at a news conference. "We are working diligently with our state, local and federal partners on this investigation, which is fluid and evolving." Greeves did not elaborate on a potential motive or specify what led investigators to believe the shooting is related to terrorism. Federal investigators also did not provide information about a possible second person. Neither FBI investigators nor the Navy provided details on the shooter or a possible motive. Last year, a man pleaded guilty to destruction of government property and possession of a stolen firearm for ramming his truck into a barricade at the base. (Phone data showed an al-Qaeda tie in Pensacola shootings.)

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