FBI: Pensacola Naval Air Station Gunman 'Connected and Associated' With Al-Qaeda Operatives

The FBI was able to get into encrypted iPhones belonging to the shooter in December’s attack at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, and discovered he had contact with a suspected al-Qaeda operative, Attorney General William Barr said Monday.

“The FBI finally succeeded” and found that the phones “definitively established” the shooter’s “substantial ties” to the terrorist organization, Barr said at a news conference with FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Success getting into the two phones heads off a confrontation -- at least for now -- with Apple Inc. in a continuing fight that pits the needs of law enforcement against the privacy of phone users.

The alleged link to al-Qaeda is also significant because it suggests the terrorist organization is still able to encourage, and possibly direct, operations in the U.S. almost two decades after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The Trump administration asked Apple in January for help unlocking a pair of iPhones belonging to the shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, a 21-year-old 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force. Alshamrani was killed by law enforcement responding to the attack.

Barr previously said the shooting rampage that killed three sailors was an act of terrorism. The attack frayed U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, which removed 21 of its cadets from military training in the U.S. in response.

Wray told lawmakers in February that the bureau had reconstructed an iPhone belonging to the shooter but still couldn’t access the encrypted data on the device.

Apple declined to comment on Monday but previously has said it gave the FBI cloud data it held related to the iPhones and works “tirelessly” to assist the bureau. The Cupertino, California-based company continues to insist that it won’t provide a backdoor around encryption to access information on its devices.

“We have always maintained there is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys,” the company said in a statement in January. “Backdoors can also be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the data security of our customers.”

While the government had been publicly pressing Apple to help it unlock the devices, experts in cybersecurity and digital forensics say the FBI has shown it has the ability to get into mobile phones when necessary without Apple’s help, as it eventually did with the one belonging to the shooter behind an attack in San Bernardino, California, five years ago.

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[georgebrown]

This only proves how incompetent our national security apparatus really is

[baltod]

are you telling me that a terrorist, was a terrorist?! *MIND BLOWN*

[USNavyVet_STG]

Time to VASTLY improve the vetting process.
Too late for our 3 fallen brothers.

[kimmaried.]

And yet he was admitted onto American soil and onto an military base. Absolutely disgusting !

[solonsternbergh]

Stop congratulating yourself for the investigation after the fact

[thingsfishing]

You can notice, and be concerned with correlations without making blanket assumptions about broad groups of individuals.

[geraldn.]

This is why we need a president that will actually reinforce US borders and immigration process.

What needs to go.. He is a looser and covers up FBI agents trying to unset President Trump... Get out What... Now

[normhenri]

Sounds like the guy was a genius. Infiltrating US military. Genius I tells ya

[BenTen-jtwt]

My question is why is the MARSEC LEVEL STILL 1

[gyromurphy]

It should be hard for law enforcement to have access to our private lives. I'm glad apple says no. Read this videos description.

[chriskelleher]

Apple doing it's patriotic best. 👎👎

[aliciaburney]

👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾❗GREAT JOB❗GOD🕊 BLESS AMERICA 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾❗✌🏾✌🏾✌🏾❗🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊❗😎

[poRP]

the good thing is that we werent racists when we let him in

[dreamer]

Dont we have better things to worry about like trying to open up the country.

[chilledmonkeebrains]

Sad that people keep doing this type of thing

[MrSamshy]

That’s a horrible event. From Saudi media his family in Saudi Arabia are in disbelief. I believe every story has 2 sides. Also, Al-Qaeda is dead in the Middle East. Anyway, my condolences to the victims and their families.

[danlinehan]

It begs the question of who vetted him in the first place? Sloppy background investigation!:(!

[beadingbusily]

Annie Fung. Trump will never become a responsible adult.

[wallace]

LMFAO! Ok. So...lol...you want me to believe that Al Qaeda is writing out their wills, on their smart phones. LOL. Sorry, but as someone that's spent over 2 years in Afghanistan working with, talking with, fighting with, and fighting against these people...that's a hard sell and I'm not buying.