(CNN) Three US Navy sailors were killed when they "didn't run from danger" after a gunman opened fire at a US Navy base in Florida, US Navy officials said.

"When confronted ... they ran towards it and saved lives. If not for their actions, and the actions of the Naval Security Force that were the first responders on the scene, this incident could have been far worse," said Capt. Tim Kinsella, the base commander officer.

The sailors were Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida; Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Georgia; and Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee County, Alabama.

Watson was a former US Naval Academy sportsman who said he was looking forward to becoming a military jet pilot.

Ensign Watson, an Alabama native, died in Friday morning's shooting, his brother Adam Watson said in a Facebook post

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