B1 Killings spread capital panic
UNITED STATES
A US military veteran opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard yesterday in a burst of violence that killed 12 people, and the gunman, and sparked waves of panic at the military installation not far from the White House and US Capitol.
The FBI identified the suspect as Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, a navy contractor who had two gun-related brushes with the law.
He was discharged from the Navy Reserve in 2011 after a series of misconduct issues, a navy official said.
Alexis was killed in one of several gun battles with police after he entered the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters about 8.20am and started picking off victims in a cafeteria from a fourthfloor atrium, witnesses said.
That set off pandemonium, with fire alarms sounding and security officers yelling at people to leave the building.
Hundreds fled, some scrambling over walls to escape the gunfire.
A loudspeaker announcement ordered those who remained to stay in their offices.
The motive remained unknown. He was armed with an AR15 military-style assault rifle, a double-barrelled shotgun and a handgun, a federal law enforcement source said.
Eight people were injured including three who were shot, Washington Mayor Vincent Gray said. Those killed were aged 46 to 73. Investigations continued into the circumstances of their deaths.
Investigators earlier were pursuing a possible second gunman but later said there were no suspects beyond Alexis.
The incident has raised questions about security at the Washington Navy Yard, 1.6km south of the US Capitol and 5km from the White House.
Alexis, a contract employee, had legitimate access to the Navy Yard and used a valid pass, the FBI said. Authorities did not address how he could have sneaked weapons on to the base.
Police patrol officers and active shooter teams put an end to the rampage, shooting Alexis dead. Washington Metropolitan police chief Cathy Lanier said the gun battles produced acts of heroism she could not yet reveal.
‘‘Everybody was panicking and trying to decide which way to get out. A few of us just ran out the side exit,’’ Patricia Ward, who works at the Navy Yard, told reporters.
Security guards told people ‘‘run, run, run,’’ Ward said.
It was the worst attack at a US military installation since US Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire on unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 31 others. Hasan, who said he acted in retaliation for US wars in Muslim countries, was convicted and sentenced to death by a military jury in August.
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‘‘We are confronting yet another mass shooting, and today it happened at another military installation, in our nation’s capital,’’ said US President Barack Obama, who vowed to enact ‘‘sensible’’ gun control measures after a gun- man shot dead 20 school children and six adults at an elementary school in Connecticut in December.
Alexis was recently hired as a civilian information technology contractor to work on the navy and marine corps intranet and was given a security clearance classified as ‘‘secret,’’ The Experts chief executive Thomas Hoshko said.
‘‘He did have a secret clearance. And he did have a CAC (common access card).’’
The shooting rattled the US capital, forcing the Federal Aviation Administration to briefly suspend departures from Reagan National Airport.
The District of Columbia Public Schools put six schools and an administration building on lockdown as a precaution.
The Washington Nationals baseball team postponed their game against the Atlanta Braves scheduled for last night at nearby
Yard worker Patricia Ward Nationals Park.
Lanier said investigators lifted the ‘‘shelter in place’’ for neighbourhoods near the Navy Yard once they had exhausted all leads for a possible second shooter.
Navy secretary Ray Mabus called the Navy Yard shootings ‘‘an attack on the navy family,’’ and said the shooting revealed a potentially serious security breach.
Military personnel are generally banned from carrying weapons on military installations but most people with proper credentials are not routinely checked for firearms.
Navy commander Tim Jirus, who was in charge of evacuating the building, said he wondered how the suspect gained access.
‘‘Right now a lot of people are wondering just how safe the building is or just how safe the office environment is.’’