Navy: Sailor kills female colleagues, then shoots self

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- An American sailor fatally shot two female sailors before shooting himself Monday inside a U.S. military barracks in Bahrain, the Navy said.

The alleged shooter, a male, survived the self-inflicted gunshot and was in critical condition at a military hospital in Bahrain, the Navy said. The man was under heavy security.

The motive for the shootings is unclear, but the Navy said the incident was not terror-related and it involved only U.S. military personnel.

The shootings occurred about 5 a.m., the Navy said in a news release. The base was closed for about an hour after the shootings.

A Navy spokesman in Bahrain refused to provide any other details about the incident.

Naval Support Activity Bahrain supports the U.S. Fifth Fleet, whose operations span about 7.5 million square miles across 27 countries. Included in the fleet's area of responsibility are the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.

The support base is located just outside Manama, the capital. Bahrain, a U.S. ally, is an island nation in the Persian Gulf, wedged between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Barbara Starr and Caroline Faraj contributed to this report.

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