Gunman told police he was hearing voices
Navy Yard suspect had mental issues
WASHINGTON — A month before he went on the rampage that left 13 dead, Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis complained to police in Rhode Island that people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of his hotel rooms and sending microwave vibrations into his body to prevent him from sleeping.
The account, contained in an Aug. 7 report from the Newport, R.I., police department, adds to the picture that has emerged since Monday’s baffling attack of an agitated and erratic naval contractor.
A day after the assault in the nation’s capital, the motive was still a mystery. U.S. law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that investigators had found no manifesto or other writings suggesting a political or religious motive.
They said Alexis, a 34-yearold information technology employee with a defence contractor, used a valid pass to get into the heavily secured Washington Navy Yard and then killed 12 people before he was gunned down by police in a shootout that lasted more than a half-hour.
Meanwhile, an attorney for a Virginia gun store says the man identified as the gunman bought a shotgun and ammunition there two days before the rampage. Michael Slocum said in an email that Alexis visited Sharpshooters Small Arms Range on Saturday. He says Alexis rented a rifle, bought bullets and used the range. He then bought a shotgun and 24 shells. Authorities say he had a shotgun with him when he entered a building at the Navy Yard on Monday and started firing, killing 12 people. Slocum says the store ran a federal background check on Alexis and it was approved. Law enforcement visited the range Monday, reviewing video and store records.
Alexis had been undergoing mental-health treatment from Veterans Affairs since August but was not stripped of his security clearance, say law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation was still going on.
He had been suffering a host of serious mental problems, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, and had been hearing voices in his head, the officials said.
The assault is raising more questions about the adequacy of the background checks done on contract employees and others who are issued security clearances — an issue that came up most recently with National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, an IT employee with a government contractor.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus ordered two security reviews Tuesday of how well the Navy protects its bases and how accurately it screens its workers. A senior defence official also said Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel intends to order a review of physical security at all department installations worldwide.
In the Newport incident, Alexis told police he got into an argument with someone as he was getting on a flight from Virginia to Rhode Island, where he was working as a naval contractor, and he said that person sent three people to follow him and harass him. He said he heard voices talking to him through a wall while at one hotel, so he changed hotels twice, but the voices followed him, states the report. He said he feared they might harm him.
Newport police alerted the Rhode Island naval station, police Lt. William Fitzgerald said Thursday.