Florida governor orders flags at half-staff for NAS Pensacola Remembrance Day

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered flags throughout the state lowered to half-staff on Sunday in honor of Naval Air Station Pensacola Remembrance Day.

>> Read more trending news

Three sailors -- Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23; Airman Mohammed S. “Mo” Haitham, 19; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21 -- lost their lives in the attack on the base on Dec. 6, 2019, the Pensacola News Journal reported.

DeSantis made the announcement in a news release issued Friday, along with a proclamation declaring Dec. 6 as Naval Air Station Pensacola Remembrance Day in the state.

“On December 6, 2019, a horrific act of terrorism was committed at Naval Air Station Pensacola, taking the lives of three U.S. Navy sailors and injuring other heroic victims,” DeSantis stated in a news release. “As a mark of respect for the victims, I signed the attached proclamation directing the flags of the United States and the state of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the state of Florida from sunrise to sunset on Sunday, December 6, 2020.”

>> Naval Air Station Pensacola shooting: FBI investigating incident as act of terrorism

Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a Saudi student who opened fire at Building 633 on the base, was killed during the shooting. Authorities said Alshamrani hosted a dinner party earlier in the week, and he and three other people watched videos of mass shootings, The Associated Press reported Saturday.

The proclamation signed by DeSantis also honored first responders, law enforcement and service members who responded that day, including the eight people who were wounded, WEAR-TV reported.

Cox Media Group