Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are demanding to know how the Saudi national who killed three people last month at a Pensacola, Florida, naval base obtained a visa to train with the U.S. military.
In a letter Wednesday to acting Homeland Security Director Chad Wolfe, the senators asked for the visa approval timeline for Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani, who carried out the Dec. 6 rampage.
Attorney General William P. Barr earlier this month declared the shooting “an act of terrorism.”
“The Saudi government allegedly believes that al-Shamrani may have embraced a radical Islamist ideology as early as 2015, two years before he entered the United States,” wrote committee Chair Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and fellow Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, both of Florida.
The letter also requested information on how many visa holders were barred from entry into the United States last year by Customs and Border Protection and whether they were aware of al-Shamrani’s terrorist sympathies.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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