Pensacola naval base shooting tests US relations with Saudi

Just months after senior US officials delivered substantial military aid to Saudi Arabia to counter threats from Iran, America's relationship with the kingdom is being tested by a Saudi Air Force student's shooting spree at a Navy base in Florida.

Even as President Donald Trump and other top officials spoke about the continued US commitment and relationship with its Mideast ally, investigators were exploring why the pilot trainee and three others watched videos of mass shootings in the days before he fatally shot three people at Naval Air Station Pensacola and wounded several others.

"I spoke with the king of Saudi Arabia. They are devastated in Saudi Arabia,'' Trump told reporters Saturday as he left the White House on a trip to Florida. He said the king "will be involved in taking care of families and loved ones. He feels very strongly.''
In a statement, the Saudi Embassy said the king "affirmed that the perpetrator of this heinous crime does not represent the Saudi people, who count the American people as friends and allies."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Saturday that he had just talked to Saudi Foreign Minister Al-Saud "who expressed his condolences and sadness at the loss of life in the horrific attack.''
"This has been done for many decades,'' Trump said Saturday. "We've been doing this with other countries, foreign countries. I guess we're going to have to look into the whole procedure. We'll start that immediately.''