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The city of Pensacola, still reeling from a shooting that left three sailors dead on Friday at Pensacola Naval Station, says it is under cyber attack with communications down at City Hall, Pensacola Energy and the city’s sanitation department.
The attacks began over the weekend just after a Saudi national training at Pensacola Naval Station opened fire, killing three and injuring eight others. THe FBI is investigating the incident as terrorism. Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force., was identified as the shooter.
Here’s what you need to know.
Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson Said It’s Unclear If the Cyber Attack Is Related to the Shooting at Pensacola Naval Station
Right now, most communication systems are down, including phone and email at City Hall. Online billing systems for sanitation and Pensacola Energy are unavailable.
“We don’t know if they’re connected or not,” Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson told reporters at City Hall on Monday. “We have discussed and we have talked with the FBI. It’s my understanding (the city) sent stuff to them, and we’re continuing to work. Our computer people worked through the weekend to see what was happening.”
The Cyber Attacks Began Shortly After the Shooting at Pensacola Naval Station
Cyberattack downs Pensacola computers hours after navy base attack t.co/bhyGJLXlRb
The cyber attack began just after 1:45 a.m. Saturday and has continued since, city officials told the Pensacola News Journal.
“We’re not the only city that’s experienced this,” Robinson said. “It’s unfortunate. It’s going to make it inconvenient for a lot of our users for the next week, interacting with the city, but we ask that you just give us some time and we’ll continue to keep working on it and get this thing back up and running.”
Cyber attack cripples city of Pensacola, officials won’t say of its a ransomware attack or something else. But they note that local officials have been sending data to FBI related to Saudi shooter. t.co/c9UIcakwQF via @pnj
A Saudi National Training at Pensacola Naval Air Station Opened Fire and Killed Three Soldiers Last Week
Reading the stories of Ensign Caleb Watson, Airman Mo Haitham, and Airman Cam Walters is another reminder of the selfless servants we have in our military.
Fair winds and following seas, young sailors. You made it matter in your too short lives .
Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force., was identified as the shooter. “He was in the aviation pipeline. He was training in aviation,” the base commander said in a news conference.
The Defense Department identified the sailors as Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee Ala.; Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, from St. Petersburg, Fla.; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, from Richmond Hill, Ga.
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies killed the suspect on the scene.
“I think there’s obviously going to be a lot of questions about this individual being a foreign national, being a part of the Saudi Air Force — to be here training on our soil — to do this,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at the press conference. “The FBI is working with DOD … to answer those questions.”