A general view of the atmosphere at the Pensacola Naval Air Station following a shooting on December 06, 2019 in Pensacola, Florida. The second shooting on a US Naval Base in a week has left three dead plus the suspect and seven people wounded. Photo: VCG

 

The Saudi military student who carried out a deadly shooting spree at a US naval base showed videos of mass shootings at a dinner party the night before the attack, US media reported Saturday.

The shooting Friday in a classroom building at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida killed three sailors and wounded eight other people, including two responding sheriff's deputies, before police shot dead the assailant.

The dinner party revelation came as authorities probed whether the shooter had any accomplices.

"We're finding out what took place, whether it's one person or a number of people," US President Donald Trump told reporters. 

"We'll get to the bottom of it very quickly."

The FBI on Saturday formally identified the attacker as Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, a Second Lieutenant in the ­Royal Saudi Air Force and a student ­naval flight officer.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist media, said he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read, "I'm against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil. 

"I hate you because every day you [are] supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity."

The Twitter account that posted the manifesto - which also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote from Al Qaeda's deceased leader Osama bin Laden - has been suspended.

The shooter did not have any apparent ties to terror groups and no group has officially claimed the attack, the Times reported, citing an unnamed senior US official.

However, "given that ISIS has very little to lose at this point, it wouldn't be surprising if it claimed the attack, regardless of the attacker's 

potential allegiances," tweeted SITE ­Director Rita Katz, referring to the ­Islamic State group.

Naval Air Station Pensacola hosts the US Navy's foreign military training programs, established in 1985 specifically for Saudi students before being expanded to other nationalities.

The shooter was one of "a couple hundred" foreign students at the base, according to commanding officer Timothy Kinsella.

Trump indicated the training program would now be under review.

Six Saudi nationals also assigned to the base were questioned after the attack, US media reported.