A former Navy reservist killed at least 12 people on Monday in a mass shooting at a secure military facility that led the authorities to lock down part of the nation’s capital — even after the gunman was killed — in a hunt for two other armed men spotted by video cameras, officials said.
But by Monday evening, the federal authorities said they believed the
shooting was the act of a lone gunman, identified as Aaron Alexis, 34,
who was working for a military subcontractor.
The chaos at the facility, the Washington Navy Yard, started just after 8
a.m. Civilian employees described a scene of confusion as shots erupted
through the hallways of the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters, on
the banks of the Anacostia River a few miles from the White House and
about a half-mile from the Capitol.
“I heard three gunshots, pow, pow, pow, straight in a row,” said
Patricia Ward, a logistics management specialist from Woodbridge, Va.,
who was in the cafeteria on the first floor when the shooting started.
“About three seconds later, there were four more gunshots, and all of
the people in the cafeteria were panicking, trying to figure out which
way we were going to run out.”
Police officers who swarmed the military facility exchanged fire with
Mr. Alexis, 34, a former naval reservist in Fort Worth. Police officers
shot Mr. Alexis to death, law enforcement officials said, but not before
a dozen people were killed and several others, including a city police
officer, were wounded and taken to local hospitals.
Officials said Mr. Alexis drove a rental car to the base and entered
using his access as a contractor and shot an officer and one other
person outside Building 197, the Sea Systems Command headquarters.
Inside, Mr. Alexis made his way to a floor overlooking an atrium and
took aim at employees eating breakfast below.
“He was shooting down from above the people,” one law enforcement
official said. “That is where he does most of his damage.”
The names of seven of the victims were released late Monday: Michael
Arnold, 59; Sylvia Frasier, 53; Kathy Gaarde, 62; John Roger Johnson,
73; Frank Kohler, 50; Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46; and Vishnu Pandit,
61. Officials said names of the other victims would be released after
their families had been contacted. All of the victims were believed to
be civilians or contractors. No active duty military personnel were
killed, said Chief Cathy L. Lanier of Washington.
One victim was shot in the left temple and was pronounced dead within a
minute of arriving at George Washington University Hospital. “This
injury was not survivable by any stretch,” a hospital official told
reporters. “The patient was dead on the way to the hospital.”
Eight people were injured. Three of them were shot, including Officer
Scott Williams of the Washington police. The others suffered injuries
from falls or complained of chest pains. Officer Williams, who served in
the canine unit, underwent several hours of surgery for gunshot wounds
to his legs. A second victim suffered a gunshot wound to her shoulder. A
bullet grazed a third victim’s head but did not penetrate her skull,
according to doctors at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
Three weapons were found on Mr. Alexis: an AR-15 assault rifle, a
shotgun and a semiautomatic pistol, a senior law enforcement officer
said. It was unclear whether he had brought all the guns with him,
another law enforcement official said, or if he had taken one or more of
them from his victims.
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