The FBI is saying that a shooting at the Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi that wounded one person and resulted in the shooter’s death was “terrorism-related.”
Syrian-born college student Adam Alsahli tried to ram his vehicle through the gate at the base, wounding a female guard in the process. The guard rolled over and managed to hit the switch that raised the barrier, preventing Alsahli from passing. Other security personnel then poured fire into the vehicle killing the terrorist.
Online trackers of jihadist activity say that Alsahli voiced support for hardline Islamic clerics on social media prior to the attack.
The FBI is examining social media posts investigators believe were made by the 20-year-old expressing support for extremist groups like Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, two officials familiar with the investigation said.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday on ‘The Today Show’ that the wounded sailor is ‘doing well.’ He also said the FBI knows the basics of what happened during the attack but is working through details, including about the suspect.
‘We hope to know more in the coming days as to what happened, what this person was motivated by,’ Esper said. ‘But we need to let the facts come out, let the investigators do their job, and we´ll see where this ends up.’
Reading the terrorist’s online postings, it’s pretty clear where the investigation is going.
Social media accounts matching Alsahli’s profile on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp featured support for hardline clerics, mostly from Saudi Arabia, and jihadi figures such as Ibrahim al-Rabaysh, who had been a spokesman for the Yemen branch of Al Qaeda and who was killed by a US drone strike in 2015, according to Rita Katz, director of the SITE Intelligence Group.
Katz tweeted a translated version of a passage posted on Alsahli’s Twitter page, which read: ‘I love the Mujahidin [sic], I’m not one of them and my sword is aimed over the necks of whoever doubts them (stabs them). ‘
Meanwhile, the FBI can’t bring itself to tell the truth about the shooter.
‘We have determined that the incident at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is terrorism related,’ Greeves said. ‘We are working diligently with our state, local and federal partners on this investigation, which is fluid and evolving.’
If it’s “terrorism-related,” would that be like the cousin of terrorism, or maybe the great uncle?
I’m not saying the FBI should rush to judgment in any case, but when the media and online activists do your work for you and inform the public of a threat, perhaps a little more transparency is in order.
The bureau is still trying to determine whether a second suspect is at large, which doesn’t seem likely at this point but the FBI is looking into it.
The quick actions of a wounded female security guard may have saved many lives as she kept the terrorist from speeding through the gate and targeting anyone on the base.
Why was Alsahli able to read radical Islamist postings anywhere? Social media companies can ban conservatives but they can’t ban terrorists?
Just asking.
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