London
The US Defense Secretary said Saturday he was not prepared at this point to label as “terrorism” the shooting dead of three people at a US Navy base by a Saudi airman.
His comments came after a group that monitors online extremism said the shooter posted criticism of US wars hours before carrying out the attack. “No, I can’t say it’s terrorism at this time,” Mark Esper said, adding he believed investigators needed to be allowed to do their work. The US authorities have not officially named the attacker or given a motive for the shooting inside a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida on Friday.
