Navy: No evidence sailor’s death was a hate crime

The Navy said today there is no indication the shooting death of a sailor standing guard at Camp Pendleton was “terrorist-related” or a hate crime.

Seaman August Provost, 29, of Houston, was fatally shot while standing guard protecting the landing craft facility on base. His body was found at about 3 a.m. Tuesday.

Provost, according to his family and gay-activists, was gay. Two members of Congress, Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) and Susan Davis (D-San Diego), have asked the military to investigate whether Provost was murdered because he is gay.

A sailor dubbed a “person of interest” is in the brig at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, although no charges have been filed.

On Thursday, Navy Capt. Matt Brown, director of public affairs for Navy Region Southwest, said Provost, who enlisted in March 2008, was a “rising star in our Navy” who was preparing to deploy soon and was considering advanced education and commissioning.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is “continuing to aggressively pursue all aspects of this case,” Brown said.

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Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) said today that…

Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista) said today that he has asked the Department of Defense and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of a sailor, who was gay, at Camp Pendleton was a hate crime.

Filner, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he wanted a complete investigation of circumstances surrounding the death of Seaman August Provost, 29, of Houston. Provost’s body was found about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in a guard shack on the western edge of the sprawling base.

Gay leaders in San Diego had asked Filner to intervene. Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of the San Diego Human Relations Commission, said Provost’s family believes the sailor had been harassed by other personnel on the base.

Filner said initial indications are that Provost was shot and his body burned. He said his committee also will investigate the case.

[Updated 7:20 p.m.: In a late afternoon news conference, Navy officials today promised a thorough investigation into the killing. They said, however, that there was no evidence it was a hate crime. A sailor who is considered to be a person of interest remains in the brig. Another sailor, who was initially considered a person of interest, has been released.]

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