Shooting at U.S. Navy base in Texas 'terrorism related': FBI

[May 22, 2020]  (Reuters) - A shooting at a U.S. Navy base in Corpus Christi, Texas, that wounded a sailor on Thursday was "terrorism related," an FBI spokeswoman said, adding that the gunman was dead at the scene but investigators were searching for a potential second suspect.

The shooter, who was not identified by law enforcement, opened fire at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi around 6:15 a.m. CDT (1115 GMT), the Navy Office of Information said in a written statement.

"We have determined that the incident this morning at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is terrorism related," FBI agent Leah Greeves said. "We are working diligently with our state, local and federal partners on this investigation, which is fluid and evolving."

Greaves said the gunman had been slain at the scene of the shooting, which was still being processed by authorities. A lockdown of the base had been lifted.

"We may have a potential second related person of interest at large in the community, but would encourage the public to remain calm. If you see something, say something," she said.

In a separate statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said it was working with the FBI along with state and local agencies in the investigation and would analyze "electronic media found at the scene."

The Justice Department did not elaborate on the nature of that electronic media.

Police officers stand at a checkpoint after a shooting incident at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. May 21, 2020. Annie Rice/Caller-Times/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS

The sailor who was wounded in the attack, a member of the base security force, was in good condition and had been released from a hospital, the Navy said.

Late last year, a Saudi gunman killed three U.S. sailors in an attack at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida, just days after a U.S. sailor shot three civilians at the historic Pearl Harbor military base in Hawaii, killing two of them before taking his own life.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Lisa Lambert, Susan Heavey and Mark Hosenball in Washington, Maria Caspani in New York and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)

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