News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

FBI Identifies Suspect Slain In Terrorism-Related Shooting At Texas Navy Base

UPDATE:FBI officials previously said they were searching for a potential second person of interest involved in the Naval Air Station shooting. On May 26, FBI Houston officials confirmed that is no longer the case.

A Thursday morning shooting at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi was terrorism-related, officials say, and the FBI has identified the suspect as 20-year-old Corpus Christi man Adam Salim Alsahli.

Police say Alsahli approached the north gate of the station around 6:15 a.m. and opened fire on officers standing at the entrance. Officers returned fire and Alsahli was reportedly killed during the shootout. One officer was injured at the scene.Social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram, which appear to belong to the suspect, reference support for the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Thursday’s shooting in Corpus Christi comes just over five months after a Saudi flight student at Naval Air Station Pensacola shot and killed three sailors on that base. The FBI announced earlier this week that the Pensacola gunman was reportedly in contactwith al-Qaida in the months leading up to the attack.

FBI Special Agent Leah Greeves said during a news conference Thursday that there may be a second suspect in the Corpus Christi shooting. 

A police officer guards the north gate of the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi following a terrorism-linked fatal shooting at the base early Thursday morning.
Credit JOLENE ALMENDAREZ FOR TEXAS PUBLIC RADIO
A police officer guards the north gate of the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi following a terrorism-linked fatal shooting at the base early Thursday morning.

By 8:30 p.m. Thursday, police cordoned off the streets at Acushnet and Greensboro drives and appeared to be searching a home that a TPR public records search showed to be Alsahli’s last known address.    

While police at the scene could not comment, they confirmed that the police presence on the streets was an FBI matter. The home is located about 20 minutes from where the shooting happened.  

NAS Corpus Christi — which conducts pilot training for Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and foreign student pilots — has seen a number of threats in recent months. The base went into lockdown in two separate instances in October and December 2019. Both times there was believed to be a subject with a gun, but no shots were fired.

That same year in February, a man stole an SUV and crashed into a gate. He was later shot and killed by base security. 

Jolene Almendarez can be reached at  or on Twitter at @jalmendarez57.

TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your  gift of support today.

Copyright 2020 Texas Public Radio. To see more, visit .

Corpus Christi police officers block the intersection of Ocean Drive and Sand Dollar Boulevard Thursday afternoon after a shooter stormed the north gate of the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi around 6:15 a.m.
Jolene Almendarez for Texas Public Radio /
Corpus Christi police officers block the intersection of Ocean Drive and Sand Dollar Boulevard Thursday afternoon after a shooter stormed the north gate of the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi around 6:15 a.m.

An active shooter at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi has been "neutralized" after one security force member was injured. The incident prompted the base and nearby Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to go on lockdown.
ANNIE RICE | CALLER-TIMES /
An active shooter at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi has been "neutralized" after one security force member was injured. The incident prompted the base and nearby Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to go on lockdown.

TPR's News Director Katz leads the organization’s news and journalism efforts, overseeing the newsroom’s day-to-day management and the development of a strategic vision for the news division. He also serves on the organization’s executive leadership team. TPR’s news team currently has 16 staff members, including reporters dedicated to in-depth coverage of subjects including Arts & Culture, Bioscience & Medicine, Education, Technology & Entrepreneurship, Military & Veterans Issues and State Government.
Jolene is a freelance journalist.