A terror attack on a Texas naval base is being investigated as a terror attack.
The suspect, Adam Alsahli of Corpus Christi, is a devout Muslim and his social media pages are littered with Arabic text, according to reports.
Lolita C. Baldor and Michael Balsamo report:
At about 6:15 a.m., the gunman tried to speed through a security gate at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, opening fire and wounding the sailor, a member of base security, U.S. officials told the AP. But she was able to roll over and hit the switch that raised a barrier, preventing the man from getting onto the base, the officials said.
Other security personnel shot and killed the man.
There was an initial concern that he may have an explosive device, but Navy experts swept the area and the car and found nothing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details about an ongoing investigation. Officials were still working to process the crime scene late into the day and had recovered some type of electronic media.
Later, federal agents were seen carrying items from inside a house that a Corpus Christi police tactical unit had surrounded and a public records search by local television station KRIS indicated was Alsahli’s last known address. A police spokesman would not confirm that the activity was related to the shooting at the Naval station.
The base was on lockdown for about five hours, but it was lifted shortly before noon. The main gate was reopened, though the gate where the incident occurred was still shut down.
FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Leah Greeves said at a news conference that investigators were working to determine whether a second person of interest was at large but did not elaborate. She also would not discuss a potential motive or specify what led investigators to believe the shooting was related to terrorism.
Alsahli, who claimed on social media to be from Damascus, Syria, frequently posted religious and Arabic text to his accounts.
Katz added that Alsahli shared ideology with the earlier attacker at a Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida: “The attacker, Adam Alsahli seems to have strong connection to Syria (possibly lived in Damascus). Also demonstrates similar ideology as Pensacola shooter Shamrani (not to mention selecting same target type), though there is no direct evidence that the two events are related.”