Navy grounds Saudi aviation students after Pensacola shooting

The Navy has suspended flight training for Saudi military students at three bases in Florida, following last week's shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola by a member of the Saudi Royal Air Force.

About 300 Saudi students will be affected, the Navy said Tuesday. While flight training is suspended, classroom instruction will continue. Three people were killed and eight injured in Friday's attack, and the gunman, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy. His motive remains unknown, and the FBI is operating on the assumption the shooting was an act of terrorism.

The FBI on Tuesday said Alshamrani obtained a state hunting license on July 11 and then legally purchased a Glock 45 9 mm handgun on July 20. Under federal law, people who come to the United States on nonimmigrant visas are banned from having a weapon or ammunition, The New York Times reports, but there are exceptions — including for those who have a valid hunting license. This "loophole" should be closed, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Sunday, adding, "I'm a big supporter of the Second Amendment, but the Second Amendment applies so that we the American people can keep and bear arms. But it does not apply to Saudi Arabians."

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