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Lakewood High principal remembers sailor killed in Pensacola
FOX 13's Mariah Harrison reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - We're learning more about the St. Petersburg native and former Lakewood High School student killed in Friday's attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
The U.S. Navy confirmed that one of the three sailors killed was 19-year-old Mohammed Sameh Haitham.
"He was a perfect kid. Students and staff loved him," remembered Lakewood High School principal Erin Savage. "My assistant principal for curriculum nicknamed him 'the perfect one.'"
Haitham graduated class of 2018. Savage says the memories of him walking the school hallways are fresh, but so is the loss.
"When I got the phone call Saturday morning, I was in disbelief," she said.
On the other end of that phone call was the Lakewood High School football coach explaining what happened on the naval base.
Mohammed Haitham (US Navy)
Haitham was one of three sailors shot and killed by 21-year-old Mohammed Alshamrani when he opened fire in a naval air station classroom.
Alshamrani was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force, and FBI agents are treating his attack as an act of terrorism.
"Our main goal is to confirm whether he acted alone or was he a part of a larger network," explained Rachel Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Field Office, during a Sunday morning briefing.
It's reported that Haitham, like at least one other airman, was killed while trying to stop the gunman. Savage says she learned this fact from Haitham's mother and it didn't surprise her.
"I was not shocked at all," she said. "I could see him trying to save others, jumping in front of a gunman and trying to save himself, but to save others as well."
Savage says Monday morning will be a tough one for students and staff. She says she will reach out to the district if extra counseling resources are needed.