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THE Saudi student who carried out the deadly NAS Pensacola shooting was an "Al Qaeda terrorist who spent years planning to attack" America.

New information was revealed Monday after the FBI broke through encryption on two cell phones belonging to the gunman.

 Saudi student Mohammed Saeed Alshamran had been in contact with Al Qaeda before he opened fire at NAS Pensacola
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Saudi student Mohammed Saeed Alshamran had been in contact with Al Qaeda before he opened fire at NAS PensacolaCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Three US sailors died in the attack
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Three US sailors died in the attackCredit: AFP or licensors

"Mohammed Saeed Alshamran was a determined Al Qaeda terrorist who spent years planning to attack us," FBI Director Chris Wray said at a press conference with Attorney General William Barr on Monday.

"The evidence [from the phones] shows the Pensacola attack was the brutal culmination of years of planning and preparation by a long-time Al Qaeda associate," he said.

"He radicalized not after training here in the United States, but at least as far back as 2015 ... before bringing his plot here to America."

Wray said Alshamwran's phones revealed he was "meticulous" as he planned the attack while communicating with Al Qaeda associates.

 Attorney General William Barr revealed new information at a press conference on Monday
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Attorney General William Barr revealed new information at a press conference on MondayCredit: AP:Associated Press
 FBI Director Chris Wray also spoke
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FBI Director Chris Wray also spokeCredit: AP:Associated Press

"He made pocket cam videos as he cased his classroom building," Wray said.

"He made a final will and saved it in his phone."

Attorney General William Barr said at the press conference that information found on Alshamran's phones was "previously unknown" to US authorities and "definitively establishes Alshamwran’s ties to Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula before he even arrived in the US."

Barr said the phones were unlocked "thanks to the relentless efforts and ingenuity of FBI technicians," without assistance from Apple.

 Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee, Alabama, died in the attack
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Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee, Alabama, died in the attackCredit: AFP or licensors
 Mohammed Sameh Haitham, from St. Petersburg, Florida, was also killed
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Mohammed Sameh Haitham, from St. Petersburg, Florida, was also killedCredit: AFP or licensors
 Sailors carry the casket of Cameron Walters at Oak Hill Cemetery in Richmond Hill, Ga. He was one of three Navy sailors killed
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Sailors carry the casket of Cameron Walters at Oak Hill Cemetery in Richmond Hill, Ga. He was one of three Navy sailors killedCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Joshua Watsons parents asked why their son was not armed on the base
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Joshua Watsons parents asked why their son was not armed on the baseCredit: Fox News

On December 6, 2019, Alshamran, 21, opened fire inside a classroom at Naval Air Station Pensacola, killing three sailors at the Florida base, and wounding eight others.

The victims were Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19; Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21.

A deputy from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office killed Alshamran.

He was training to be a naval flight officer when he opened fire with a Glock 9mm that he purchased legally.

In January US Attorney General demanded Apple unlock the Pensacola shooter's iPhones, after declaring the attack by the Saudi cadet as an act of Jihadist terror.

At the Monday press conference, AG Barr said they had used "invaluable" information found on Alshamran's phones to conduct counter-terrorism activity in Yemen.

"We will not hesitate to act against those who harm Americans," he said.

 

In January, the parents of victim Joshua Watson asked why their son was unarmed on the base.

"I don't understand how being on watch works if you cannot defend yourself and defend the people that are there," Sheila Watson said during an interview with Fox News.

"My son died trying to get out of that building to get help to save those people because he knew he could not defend himself against a man with a gun."