The shooting began around 6.15am at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.

The shooter tried to speed through a gate at the base in a vehicle, but security personnel put up a barrier in time to stop the shooting, US officials said.

The FBI is investigating the shooting as “terrorism-related”, FBI special agent Leah Greeves said at a news conference Thursday afternoon, and investigators were working to determine whether a second person of interest was at large in the community.

“We have determined that the incident this morning at the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is terrorism-related,” Greeves said.