The FBI has found a link between the gunman in a deadly attack at a military base last December and an al-Qaida operative, a U.S. official said Monday.

Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Chris Wray were set to hold a news conference to announce developments in the shooting late last year at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three U.S. sailors and injured eight other people.

The FBI declined to comment ahead of the news conference.

The contacts between the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, and the al-Qaida operative were discovered on the shooter’s phone, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the case by name and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Alshamrani, who was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the rampage at a classroom building, was undergoing flight training at Pensacola, where members of foreign militaries routinely receive instruction.

The Justice Department had previously asked Apple to help extract data from two iPhones that belonged to the gunman, including one that authorities say Alshamrani damaged with a bullet after being confronted by law enforcement. It was not immediately clear how the FBI and Justice Department were able to ultimately access the phone.

Law enforcement officials left no doubt that Alshamrani was motivated by jihadist ideology, saying he visited a New York City memorial to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and posted anti-American and anti-Israeli messages on social media just two hours before the shooting.

Separately, al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen, released a video claiming the attack. The branch, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, has long been considered the global network’s most dangerous branch and has attempted to carry out attacks on the U.S. mainland.

In January, U.S. officials announced that they were sending home 21 Saudi military students after an investigation revealed that they had had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had “contact with child pornography.”

Barr said at the time that Saudi Arabia had agreed to review the conduct of all 21 to see if they should face military discipline and to send back anyone the U.S. later determines should face charges.

Related Stories
‹
Florida State Gunman Used Deputy Mom’s Former Service Weapon To Kill 2 and Wound 6, Authorities Say
The 20-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy opened fire Thursday at Florida State University with his mother’s former service weapon, killing two men and wounding at least six others, investigators said.
A 15-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shoots a Teacher and a Teenager at a Christian School in Wisconsin
A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and a teenager and prompting a swarm of police officers to descend on the school in response to a second grader’s 911 call.
James Crumbley, Who Bought Gun Used by Son To Kill 4 Students, Guilty of Manslaughter in Michigan
The father of a Michigan school shooter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter Thursday, a second conviction against the parents.
Gunfire at Chiefs’ Super Bowl Celebration Kills 1 and Wounds Nearly Two Dozen, Including Children
Written by HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and NICK INGRAM A historic railway station on the edge of downtown Kansas City became the latest backdrop for a mass shooting as gunfire near the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration sent terrified fans scrambling for cover and left 21 people wounded — including at least eight children — […]
Las Vegas Shooting Suspect Was a Professor Who Recently Applied for a Job at UNLV, AP Source Says
Written by KEN RITTER and RIO YAMAT The man suspected of fatally shooting three people and wounding another at a Las Vegas university Wednesday was a professor who unsuccessfully sought a job at the school, a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed in a […]
Why So Many Mass Killings? Families, Experts Seek Answers
Written by STEFANIE DAZIO and LARRY FENN More than five years after his son was gunned down in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Richard Berger still asks why. Why Stephen Berger was killed the day after celebrating his 44th birthday. Why the gunman rained bullets over the Las Vegas Strip in 2017, […]
Police Seek Motive of Gunman Who Killed 3 at Michigan State
Written by JOEY CAPPELLETTI and KEN KUSMER Police identified the 43-year-old man who killed three students and wounded five at Michigan State University, saying Tuesday that a tip from the public led to a confrontation with officers miles from campus where the gunman fatally shot himself. Investigators still were sorting out why Anthony McRae fired inside Berkey […]
Gunman in Lunar New Year Massacre Found Dead; Motive Unclear
Written by AMY TAXIN and DAMIAN DOVARGANES Authorities searched for a motive for the gunman who killed 10 people at a Los Angeles-area ballroom dance club during Lunar New Year celebrations, slayings that sent a wave of fear through Asian American communities and cast a shadow over festivities nationwide. The suspect, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, was found […]
Witness: Walmart Employee Opened Fire in Break Room; 6 Dead
Written by ALEX BRANDON A Walmart manager opened fire on fellow employees gathered in the break room of a Virginia store, a witness said Wednesday. Six people died in the country’s second high-profile mass shooting in a handful of days. The gunman, who apparently killed himself, was dead when police found him, said Chesapeake Police […]
Rage and Sadness as Colorado Club Shooting Victims Honored
Written by THOMAS PEIPERT, JESSE BEDAYN and BRITTANY PETERSON Hundreds of people, many holding candles and wiping away tears, gathered in a Colorado Springs park to honor those killed and wounded when a gunman opened fire on a nightlife venue that for decades was a sanctuary for the local LGBTQ community. Monday night’s vigil came as the […]
›