PENSACOLA, Fla. — The FBI has launched a terror investigation surrounding the Saudi national who gunned down a naval air station in Pensacola.

  • FBI begins terror investigation into shooting at naval air station
  • Saudi national opened fire at station, killing 3 people
  • At least 11 people were hurt in the attack, including the two sheriff’s deputies
  • One of three victims killed was from St. Petersburg, Fla.

Additional investigators from the FBI and other government agencies are coming to Florida in the coming days to look into whether Friday’s murders were an act of terrorism. 

The deadly shooting was the second one at a U.S. navy base in two days.

The gunman was a second lieutenant in the Saudi Arabian military, according to the U.S. secretary of defense. He had been involved in flight training at the naval air station, as part of a joint training program with America’s partner militaries around the world.

Investigators say the gunman opened fire on two floors of a training building, killing three people and injuring several others.

Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed him.

Authorities have not identified the gunman. Defense officials are reviewing measures for screening foreign students.

The Victims

One of the three victims was identified as Mohammed "Mo" Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida, according to a report from the Tampa Bay Times.

Haitham's mother Evelyn Brady said her son joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from high school last year. Brady, herself a Navy veteran, said the commander of her son's school called her and told her Haitham had tried to stop the shooter.

Another victim killed, Joshua Watson, had just graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and looked forward to a military career as a pilot. On Saturday, he was hailed a hero, as his family recounted how the 23-year-old, in his last minutes of life, led first responders to an active shooter at the Pensacola naval base.

In a Facebook post, his brother Adam said Watson saved countless lives with his own.

"After being shot multiple times he made it outside and told the first response team where the shooter was, and those details were invaluable," Adam Watson wrote on Facebook.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.