FBI: Shooter at Pensacola military base link to al-Qaida

The gunman in a deadly attack at a military base in Pensacola, Florida, last December was meticulous in his planning and had been radicalized overseas for at least five years, U.S. officials said Monday.

The FBI learned of the contacts between the gunman, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, and an al-Qaida operative after breaking the encryption on cellphones that had previously been locked.

Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Chris Wray held a news conference to announce the 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.