Mohammed Sameh ’Mo’ Haitham was 19 and stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola when he was killed on December 6, 2019. He had joined the Navy in 2018 after graduating from Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, Florida, and was undergoing flight crew training when a 21-year-old Saudi aviation student, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, opened fire in a classroom.

Alshamrani’s attack killed Haitham and two other U.S. Navy personnel and wounded eight more before responding law enforcement officers shot Alshamrani dead. Reports say investigators found Alshamrani had expressed extremist views and had been in contact with al-Qaeda operatives; the FBI classified the incident as an act of terrorism.

Haitham ran toward the shooter during the attack in an effort to stop him and was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Navy Good Conduct Medal. Lawsuits by victims’ families against the Saudi government and broader questions about vetting and security at military training programs followed the shooting.