A Florida sheriff has confirmed the absence of an active shooter and reported no injuries following a response to gunfire reports at Corry Station, a Navy installation in Pensacola.
Authorities, alongside military personnel, have completed a detailed sweep, allowing the facility to reopen, as mentioned in a post on Naval Air Station Pensacola’s social media channels around 1:15 p.m. on Thursday.
According to Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons, a report was made at around 10:15 a.m. regarding the sound of multiple gunshots. However, deputies who conducted a search found no evidence of a shooting and no victims were identified. As a precaution, all available deputies were dispatched to the Corry Station sub-installation, working collaboratively with military personnel to ensure the station was secure.
Both the base and the Naval Air Station Pensacola closed their entrances while the police conducted investigations. Officers carried out an extensive search of the premises that lasted nearly two hours before declaring the area safe.
Corry Station functions as a sub-installation under the broader Naval Air Station Pensacola command. It accommodates various units, such as the Navy’s Center for Information Warfare Training, as well as operations involving civilians and Marines. According to the Navy’s website for the installation, the gates remain open 24 hours a day, but entry is contingent on having credentials or being accompanied by an individual who has them.
Updates from Naval Air Station information specialists on the station’s social media accounts indicated that Corry Station’s gates stayed closed just before 12:30 p.m., although entrances to the larger station had commenced reopening.
This is not the first shooting incident at NAS Pensacola. In December 2019, a Saudi student opened fire in a classroom, resulting in the deaths of three sailors and injuries to eight others, including two sheriff’s deputies. In that event, one of the deputies managed to neutralize the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani.
Following the 2019 shooting, the Trump administration took action by sending 21 Saudi military students back to their home country, due to findings that revealed jihadist or anti-American sentiments on their social media pages, or links to child sexual abuse material, as noted in early 2020. None of the trainees were accused of being aware of or having assisted in the shooting carried out by the 21-year-old gunman.
Gunshots reported at Florida naval base, no evidence found
