Governor Ron DeSantis orders flags at half-staff for Pensacola victim
Friends of 19-year-old Mohammed Haitham say he died trying to stop the shooter. (U.S. Navy)
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff Saturday to honor U.S. Navy Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, who was one of three people killed in a shooting Dec. 6 at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
DeSantis ordered flags to be at half-staff at the state Capitol, the Pinellas County Clerk of Court and St. Petersburg City Hall.
A funeral service was held for Haitham at 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, according to the website of Lawson Funeral & Cremation Services.
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Haitham, 19, was from St. Petersburg and was a graduate of Lakewood High School, according to an obituary on the Tampa Bay Times website.
Friends said Haitham died trying to stop the shooter.
"If you knew Mo, this is no surprise," Kimberly Walker said in a tribute to the late sailor on Facebook.
RELATED: 3 sailors killed in NAS Pensacola shooting showed 'exceptional heroism,' Navy says
Joshua Watson, Cameron Scott Walters, and Haitham were killed when a Saudi aviation student opened fire at the base on Dec. 6.
The shooter, Mohammed Alshamrani, was able to legally purchase a 9mm Glock pistol, according to the FBI. Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a review of federal laws that allow foreign nationals to possess guns on U.S. soil.