The FBI has requested Apple aid investigators in accessing two iPhones apparently owned by the Saudi Air Force officer who is believed to have killed three people at the Pensacola Air Force base last month, NBC News reported Tuesday.
A letter from FBI General Counsel Dana Boente sent to Apple explained the bureau is having difficulty in figuring out the relevant passwords to gain access to the contents of the phones owned by the suspect, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani.
Apple said it has been working with the government, issuing a statement the company has "the greatest respect for law enforcement and [has] always worked cooperatively to help in their investigations. When the FBI requested information from us relating to this case a month ago, we gave them all of the data in our possession and we will continue to support them with the data we have available."
Another factor complicating the ability to unlock one of the phones is when Alshamrani was shot dead during the attack in an exchange of gunfire with deputies, one of the bullets went into the phone, a law enforcement official said.
Five years ago, the FBI and Apple had a confrontation when the company opposed a request from the bureau to help it unlock the iPhone of one of the shooters who killed 14 people at a party in San Bernardino, California, according to CNN.
The Justice Department sued Apple in that case, although investigators eventually managed to gain access to the phone without Apple's help, and the suit was withdrawn.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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