A bill working its way through the Florida Legislature would rename a bridge in honor of one of the three U.S. Navy sailors killed in a 2019 terrorist attack onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, introduced House Bill 841 to rename the Gandy Bridge on U.S. Highway 92 in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties as “Airman Mohammed ‘Mo’ Sameh Haitham Memorial Way.”
Haitham, Ensign Joshua Watson and Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Walters were killed Dec. 6, 2019, when a Saudi Arabian military student who had been radicalized prior to attending flight training at NAS Pensacola opened fire in a training facility. Eight others were wounded in the attack, and the gunman was killed by responding law enforcement officers.
Military officials and local authorities praised Haitham for running toward the sound of the gunfire and attempting to deescalate the attack. Though he was shot and fatally wounded by the gunman, Haitham bought precious time for others to escape and for first responders to arrive.