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Aaron Alexis named suspected gunman in Washington navy yard shooting Aaron Alexis named as gunman in Washington navy yard shooting
(about 1 hour later)
The US navy has confirmed that a gunman responsible for Monday's deadly rampage at the Washington navy yard is a former sailor. Aaron Alexis, 34, served in the US navy from May 2007 to January 2011, according to Rear Admiral John Kirby, the navy's chief of information. The man responsible for Monday's deadly rampage at the Washington navy yard is a former reservist who was arrested at least twice in the past for gun-related offences.
Alexis, whose home of record is listed as New York City, was a navy aviation electrician's mate 3rd class. From 1 February 2008 until his detachment from the navy on 31 January 2011, Alexis was assigned to Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 46, in Fort Worth, Texas. Numerous media reports cited a gun-related arrest for Alexis, in 2010 in Forth Worth. Official records show that Aaron Alexis, 34, served in the US navy from May 2007 to January 2011. In 2010, while he was based at Fort Worth in Texas, he was arrested after discharging a firearm. In 2004, police in Seattle arrested him after what they described as an "anger-fuelled shooting".
The FBI, which is now leading the investigation, is still determining how Alexis got on to the Washington navy yard installation. Media reports have speculated that Alexis may have used someone else's identification, but that detail remained unconfirmed. Alexis, whose home was listed as New York City, was a navy aviation electrician's mate third class from 1 February 2008 until he left the navy on 31 January 2011. He is listed as having received the national defense service medal and the global war on terrorism service medal.
According to a navy document, Alexis is not listed as having served overseas. He is listed as having received the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. In response to media inquiries on Monday, Seattle police said that during their inquiries into the 2004 incident, Alexis's father reported that he suffered from "anger management problems associated with PTSD, and that Alexis had been an active participant in rescue attempts on September 11, 2001".
It is unclear if Alexis acted alone in a gun rampage that began around 8.20am, at Building 197 in the navy yard. Police said on Monday afternoon they were still looking for a second suspect in connection with the shooting. The statement went on: "Following his arrest, Alexis told detectives he perceived he had been 'mocked' by construction workers the morning of the incident, and said they had 'disrespected him'. Alexis also claimed he had an anger-fueled 'blackout' and could not remember firing his gun at the victims' vehicle until an hour after the incident.
Kirby said that the order for personnel at the navy yard to remain in place had been lifted for some buildings by late Monday afternoon, but Building 197 was still under "lockdown". Some personnel have been allowed to leave the base. "Alexis also told police he was present during 'the tragic events of September 11, 2001' and described 'how those events had disturbed him'."
According to a Texas police report, he was arrested in September, 2010 on suspicion of discharging a firearm in a municipality, but not formally charged.
The police report from the time states that an officer was dispatched to Orion at Oak Hill, a large, gated apartment complex in west Fort Worth, after a woman called the police and said that she believed someone had fired a shot into her apartment.
According to the report, the woman was "visibly shaken up", said that Alexis was her downstairs neighbour, and had "called the police several times on her for being loud. The police always said they didn't hear anything and no action was taken. She said that several days ago Aaron confronted her in the parking lot about making too much noise."
The report adds that the woman told the officer "she is terrified of Aaron and feels that [the shot] was done intentionally." It states that the officer knocked on Aaron's door and did not receive a response, but he then emerged voluntarily after the officer called the fire department to get them to forcibly enter the property.
"He said that he was trying to clean his gun while cooking and that his hands were slippery," the report says. "He told me that he began to take the gun apart when his hands slipped and pulled the trigger discharging a round into the ceiling."
It is unclear if Alexis acted alone in a gun rampage that began around 8.20am, at building 197 in the navy yard. Police said on Monday afternoon they were still looking for a second suspect in connection with the shooting.
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