3 Investigates: Sen. Rick Scott pushes to arm military officers on bases

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WEAR) — How did a Saudi flight student purchase a gun through a federal loophole and get it on a U.S. military base?

Our 3 Investigates team has been asking the tough questions and pushing for answers since the deadly shooting happened at NAS Pensacola on December 6th.

Our 3 Investigates team and ABC News first broke the news on how and where the gun was purchased. The investigation also uncovered the shooter fired more than 180 rounds for about 15 minutes inside a building as NAS Pensacola, before being shot and killed, a federal report states.

Those trapped inside say they used their military training to fight back.

"One of them ran up to him and tried to stop the guy, and lost his life doing it, but he slowed him down.” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said. “He saved other people’s lives, so he is a hero. [Joshua] Kaleb [Watson] was shot and got outside while he was dying and called for help and let people know where the individual was."

Sen. Scott is now demanding transparency from the FBI investigation.

He says he wants to know exactly what happened, so if everyone can understand what changes do need to be made.

Then he pondered, “Why would a Saudi have access to a gun?"

The Florida senator is also questioning if training should be held in Saudi Arabia instead.

Reports indicate U.S. Navy pilots are asking that military officers be allowed to arm themselves on U.S. military bases.

“They should have access to a weapon, how can you expect them to defend themselves,” Scott said.

The senator says it defies logic - our men and women operate multi-million dollar pieces of equipment and are trusted to keep our country safe, but they are not allowed to carry weapons.

The senator also paused to thank all involved.

“I want to thank the people that were there that stopped him. Thank the airman that showed up to slow him down, think about how many people he could have killed,” Scott stressed.

He added he will work with key government agencies like the Armed Services Committees and the Department of Defense and asking the tough questions

“What went wrong? Who do we change it so this doesn’t happen again? How do we make sure everyone understands the changes being made?" Sen. Scott asked.

The senator says streamlining communication between military law enforcement and local law enforcement is critical.