Bridge may be renamed in honor of airman killed in NAS Pensacola terrorist attack

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.

Rayner, in remarks to the House Transportation & Modals Subcommittee on Thursday, said it was her honor to recognize Haitham, who grew up in the St. Petersburg area.

"There was a killer that came onto the base, and instead of running away from danger, Mo decided to run to danger," Rayner said. "And he did so to protect the lives of the people on the base, and right before he died he was able to tell the deputies where the killer was so the killer could be apprehended. Mo was a patriot, was a true hero."

Haitham's mother, Evelyn Brady, was at the subcommittee meeting and tearfully read aloud the letter posthumously awarding her son the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism.

Get to know Mo: Youngest victim in NAS Pensacola shooting stood up to bullies, 'wanted to help people'

Pensacola Republican Rep. Alex Andrade also spoke at the meeting and was emotional as he told Brady he had grieved and prayed for her family, and would always remember Haitham's sacrifice.

"I cried for the first time in a committee today, but I could not have been more humbled to vote in support of naming a road after Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham," Andrade later wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "He was a hero. Thank you to Rep. Rayner for honoring his memory."

The bill received unanimous support from 16 subcommittee members in attendance Thursday and its next stop will be the Infrastructure & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee. If ultimately passed into law, the bill is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: NAS Pensacola Airman Mohammed Haitham could be Gandy Bridge namesake