Suspect killed in Texas Navy base shooting identified as Syrian-born U.S. citizen

[May 23, 2020]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The suspect killed at the scene of Thursday's "terrorism-related" shooting at a U.S. naval air base in Texas has been identified as 20-year-old Adam Aalim Alsahli, a Syrian-born U.S. citizen, federal law enforcement officials said on Friday.

In the Thursday morning attack, the gunman opened fire at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, wounding one sailor, a member of the base security force, but the assailant was the only person killed, the FBI said.

The suspect's name and age were confirmed to Reuters in an email from an FBI official, and tweeted by the agency. No further official information about the suspect was immediately released.

A U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said Alsahli was a native of Syria who held U.S. citizenship.

FBI agent Leah Greeves said on Thursday that the incident was being treated as "terrorism related," but official details about the circumstances of the attack remained scant.

The New York Times quoted a base spokeswoman as saying a man in a vehicle approached a gate to the installation and began firing at a guard, who was injured but managed to activate a "final denial barrier" that prevents entry. Base personnel returned fire, and the gunman was "neutralized," the spokeswoman told the Times.

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

Greeves said on Thursday that authorities were searching for "a potential second related person of interest" who remained at large in the community. A law enforcement official said that as of Friday afternoon, authorities had no updated information to release about the possible second suspect.

The Justice Department said separately on Thursday that electronic media found at the scene was being analyzed as part of the investigation.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Tom Brown and Leslie Adler)

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