The deadly attack at the Washington Navy Yard was carried out by one of the military's
own: a defense contract employee and former Navy reservist who used a valid pass to get
onto the installation and started firing inside a building, killing 12 people before he was
slain in a gun battle with police.
The motive for the mass shooting — the deadliest on a military installation in the U.S. since
the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 —remains a mystery, investigators said. But a
profile of the lone gunman, a 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, was coming into focus. He was
described as a Buddhist who had also had flares of rage, complained about the Navy and
being a victim of discrimination and had several run-ins with law
enforcement, including
two shootings.
Monday's onslaught at a single building at the highly secure Navy Yard unfolded about 8:20
a.m. in the heart of the nation's capital, less than four miles from the White House and two
miles from the Capitol.
It put all of Washington on edge. Mayor Vincent Gray said there was no indication it was a
terrorist attack, but he added that the possibility had not been ruled out.
"This is a horrific tragedy," he said.
Alexis carried three weapons: an AR-15 assault rifle, a shotgun, and a handgun that he took
from a police officer at the scene, according to two federal law enforcement officials who
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the
investigation. The AR-15 is the same type of rifle used in last year's mass shooting at a
Newtown, Conn., elementary school that killed 20 students and six women. The weapon
was also used in the shooting at a Colorado movie theater that killed 12 and wounded 70.
For much of the day, authorities said they were looking for a possible second attacker who
may have been disguised in an olive-drab military-style uniform. But by late Monday night,
they said they were convinced the shooting was the work of a lone gunman, and the
lockdown around the area was eased.
President Barack Obama lamented yet another mass shooting in the U.S. that he said took
the lives of American "patriots." He promised to make sure "whoever carried out this
cowardly act is held responsible."
In addition to those killed at the Navy Yard, eight people were hurt, including three who
were shot and wounded, according to the mayor. Those three were a police officer and two
female civilians, authorities said. They were all expected to survive.
The dead ranged in age from 46 to 73, according to the mayor. A number of the victims
were civilian employees and contractors, rather than active-duty military personnel, the
police chief said.
At the time of the rampage, Alexis was an employee with The Experts, a company that was a
Defense Department subcontractor on a Navy-Marine Corps computer project, authorities
said.
The FBI has now taken charge of the investigation.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Gunman kills 12 and injures 15 at Washinton Navy Yard rampage
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