Five years after a terrorist attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola took the lives of three sailors, flags throughout the Sunshine State are flying at half-staff to honor their memory. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations and grounds in honor of Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters. The three sailors lost their lives on Dec. 6, 2019, after 21-year-old Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, an aviation student from Saudi Arabia, shot into their classroom, killing them and injuring eight others. Haitham, Watson and Walters reportedly ran at the gunman to try and stop him. Alshamrani was fatally shot after he opened fire on the classroom, according to the FBI. Just over a month after the attack, the Department of Justice began treating the investigation as an act of terrorism. In 2020, Qassim al-Rimi, an al-Qaida leader who claimed responsibility for the attack, was killed during a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen. That same year, DeSantis declared December 6 as Naval Air Station Pensacola Remembrance Day in Florida. In a proclamation, the governor stated: "As Floridians and Americans, we must never forget the honorable lives of Naval Aircrewman Mechanical 3rd Class Mohammed S. Haitham, Naval Aircrewman Mechanical 3rd Class Cameron S. Walters and Lieutenant Junior Grade Joshua K. Watson." MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/desantis-flags-half-honor-victims-2019-nas-pensacola-attack/67-5d04d9e8-c7f2-4e41-b543-30afab565a68