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| Signs of Distress Multiplied on Suspect’s Path to Navy Yard | Signs of Distress Multiplied on Suspect’s Path to Navy Yard |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| In the days before Aaron Alexis called the police in Newport, R.I., to complain that he was hearing voices sent by a “microwave machine,” employees at the Residence Inn in nearby Middletown were struggling to cope with his behavior. | |
| Daily logs kept by the hotel detailed how on successive nights, he knocked on doors to find the voices, woke up a person in one room and frightened another so badly that she asked to move. Then came a call from his employer. | Daily logs kept by the hotel detailed how on successive nights, he knocked on doors to find the voices, woke up a person in one room and frightened another so badly that she asked to move. Then came a call from his employer. |
| “Brenda from The Experts Inc. called re: Mr. Alexis in 407,” a Residence Inn employee noted in a log dated Aug. 7 that was reviewed by The New York Times. | “Brenda from The Experts Inc. called re: Mr. Alexis in 407,” a Residence Inn employee noted in a log dated Aug. 7 that was reviewed by The New York Times. |
| “She explained that he is unstable and the company is bringing him home,” the entry continued. “She asked me to check the room (it was vacant), and check him out.” | “She explained that he is unstable and the company is bringing him home,” the entry continued. “She asked me to check the room (it was vacant), and check him out.” |
| The call from the company, placed six weeks before Mr. Alexis, a former Navy reservist who the police say shot and killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard, suggests it had deep concerns about his state of mind and raises questions about why he continued to be sent to Navy bases in different states to work on their computer systems. | |
| Company officials have said that although they knew Mr. Alexis was complaining about voices, they believed he was saying that the hotel was too noisy. The company did not respond immediately to requests for comment on Thursday. | |
| It was one of numerous occasions in the weeks just before the shootings on Monday when Mr. Alexis’ increasingly bizarre behavior was noted by others, including hotel employees, guards at a Virginia airport and the police in Newport. Yet no one managed to head off the violence. | |
| Much remains unknown about Mr. Alexis’ life and what drove his actions, gaps that are likely to remain at least partly unfilled with his fatal shooting by police officers at the navy yard. But as details emerge, they suggest a man engaged in an intense internal struggle for control, a battle he ultimately lost. And like other mass killers before him — James E. Holmes in Colorado, Jared L. Loughner in Arizona, Seung-Hui Cho in Virginia — he left a trail of telltale signs that were minimized, misinterpreted or ignored. | |
| In many ways, Mr. Alexis, 34, seemed a jumble of contradictions. In Fort Worth, where he spent years in the Navy Reserve, he was described as friendly and sociable, drinking Heineken at bars with co-workers and chatting with customers at the Thai restaurant Happy Bowl, where he worked for a time. | In many ways, Mr. Alexis, 34, seemed a jumble of contradictions. In Fort Worth, where he spent years in the Navy Reserve, he was described as friendly and sociable, drinking Heineken at bars with co-workers and chatting with customers at the Thai restaurant Happy Bowl, where he worked for a time. |
| But he also held a piece of himself apart. “He would kind of close into himself,” said Melinda Downs, who knew him in Fort Worth and served as a motherly figure in his life. “He didn’t let a whole bunch of people in, because he’d been hurt. He handled himself carefully.” | |
| Like others, Ms. Downs recalled Mr. Alexis as “sweet” and often “playful.” But he also had outbursts of rage, some extreme; he told the police in Seattle in 2004 that he shot out the tires of a construction worker’s car in an anger-fueled “blackout.” And co-workers at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York described him as a person who held on to grudges and did not tolerate fools gladly. | |
| Perhaps in an effort to keep his more violent emotions in check, Mr. Alexis practiced Theravada Buddhism, meditating for hours on the thick rugs of a temple in White Settlement, the suburb west of Fort Worth where he lived on and off for three years. He told one man affiliated with the temple that he aspired to be a monk, but he would stay up late at night playing violent video games in his room. | Perhaps in an effort to keep his more violent emotions in check, Mr. Alexis practiced Theravada Buddhism, meditating for hours on the thick rugs of a temple in White Settlement, the suburb west of Fort Worth where he lived on and off for three years. He told one man affiliated with the temple that he aspired to be a monk, but he would stay up late at night playing violent video games in his room. |
| Mr. Alexis, a computer specialist who led an itinerant life, traveling to naval installations around the country to service their systems, seemed aware of his emotional problems, telling friends he suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. But it is not clear whether he ever sought mental health treatment. Visiting an emergency room at a veterans’ medical center in August, he said only that he was having trouble sleeping, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. | Mr. Alexis, a computer specialist who led an itinerant life, traveling to naval installations around the country to service their systems, seemed aware of his emotional problems, telling friends he suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. But it is not clear whether he ever sought mental health treatment. Visiting an emergency room at a veterans’ medical center in August, he said only that he was having trouble sleeping, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. |
| Yet in the last weeks before the shooting, when he ricocheted from Washington to Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and possibly other states, whatever control that Mr. Alexis seemed to have maintained began to fissure, the cracks spreading through his life. | Yet in the last weeks before the shooting, when he ricocheted from Washington to Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and possibly other states, whatever control that Mr. Alexis seemed to have maintained began to fissure, the cracks spreading through his life. |
| The notation made in the log of the Residence Inn in August was one of several describing his tortured two-day stay there. He complained about kitchen noises that were disturbing him in his fourth-floor room, though the kitchen was several floors below, the hotel noted. Later he called the desk to complain about noises coming from the room under his. | |
| On the evening of his second day at the hotel, he checked out suddenly, moving to a room at the Navy base reserved for veterans. But he stayed only a few hours, moving again, to the Marriott in Newport. | On the evening of his second day at the hotel, he checked out suddenly, moving to a room at the Navy base reserved for veterans. But he stayed only a few hours, moving again, to the Marriott in Newport. |
| Early the next morning, he called the Newport police, telling them about the voices and saying he was being followed by people whom he had argued with at an airport in Virginia. | Early the next morning, he called the Newport police, telling them about the voices and saying he was being followed by people whom he had argued with at an airport in Virginia. |
| His interpretation of the airport dispute may have veered into paranoia, but the argument itself was probably real. Glynda Boyd, 50, of Birmingham, Ala., said in an interview that she was standing at a gate in the Norfolk airport on Aug. 4, laughing and talking with family members, when an intense young man in bluejeans and a T-shirt approached them from across the aisle of the terminal. | His interpretation of the airport dispute may have veered into paranoia, but the argument itself was probably real. Glynda Boyd, 50, of Birmingham, Ala., said in an interview that she was standing at a gate in the Norfolk airport on Aug. 4, laughing and talking with family members, when an intense young man in bluejeans and a T-shirt approached them from across the aisle of the terminal. |
| “Why is she laughing at me?” the man asked her, referring to her 78-year-old aunt, who sat in a wheelchair near the boarding door. Ms. Boyd, whose account was first reported by Fox News, said she and her family later recognized the man as Mr. Alexis when they saw his image on television. | |
| “She’s just laughing, she don’t know you,” Ms. Boyd, who said her family had just come from a reunion in Norfolk, told him. But he persisted, asking again, while rubbing his head and moving his arm as if reaching for something. When Ms. Boyd and her brother moved away, seeking out an airline agent and asking her to call security, Mr. Alexis, who had been speaking softly, grew belligerent and began shouting obscenities, she said. | |
| “You could see there was something very wrong with him,” she said, adding that she felt he could easily become violent. “We said, he’s either on drugs or he’s mental.” Security guards arrived and Mr. Alexis eventually calmed down, Ms. Boyd said, returning to his own gate and making a call on his cellphone. Later that day, he checked into the Residence Inn outside Newport. It is not clear whether the Experts ever ordered him home or exactly where he traveled next. | |
| But on Aug. 18, at a meeting of a Thai Buddhist congregation in Raynham, Mass., about 40 miles north of Newport, Mr. Alexis approached Mongkol Kuakool, the head monk. He introduced himself in Thai and told the monk he had a “pain in his head.” | But on Aug. 18, at a meeting of a Thai Buddhist congregation in Raynham, Mass., about 40 miles north of Newport, Mr. Alexis approached Mongkol Kuakool, the head monk. He introduced himself in Thai and told the monk he had a “pain in his head.” |
| “When I come to the temple it gets better, it’s good,” Mr. Kuakool remembers him saying. He added, “When he explained it, I was afraid of him.” | “When I come to the temple it gets better, it’s good,” Mr. Kuakool remembers him saying. He added, “When he explained it, I was afraid of him.” |
| Mr. Alexis, Mr. Kuakool said, spent the night in his car and returned to the temple the next morning. He thanked the monk, bowed to the gold statue of the Buddha and signed the guest book before leaving, writing, “Happy to visit here.” | |
| The two late-summer encounters may have been signs that Mr. Alexis’ private tumult was becoming more public. But as early as July he seemed to be having problems with both finances and friends. | The two late-summer encounters may have been signs that Mr. Alexis’ private tumult was becoming more public. But as early as July he seemed to be having problems with both finances and friends. |
| In Fort Worth, where he was living with Nutpisit Suthamtewakul and his wife, Kristi, the owners of Happy Bowl, he complained about his paychecks from the Experts, saying that they were late or that he was not getting paid enough. | In Fort Worth, where he was living with Nutpisit Suthamtewakul and his wife, Kristi, the owners of Happy Bowl, he complained about his paychecks from the Experts, saying that they were late or that he was not getting paid enough. |
| “He had a problem with his company,” Mr. Suthamtewakul said. Mr. Alexis worked for the Experts from last September until January, then took off several months to attend college. But he returned to the company in July, telling friends he needed money. | “He had a problem with his company,” Mr. Suthamtewakul said. Mr. Alexis worked for the Experts from last September until January, then took off several months to attend college. But he returned to the company in July, telling friends he needed money. |
| For nearly three years, he and Mr. Alexis had shared living quarters in Fort Worth and in White Settlement, a town of 16,000 dotted with bingo halls, pawn shops, auto-repair garages, self-storage facilities and vacant businesses and homes. The town is home to a number of immigrants from Thailand. | |
| Mr. Alexis attended meditation sessions at a nearby Buddhist temple, Wat Busayadhammavanaram, chanting and praying with the mostly Southeast Asian worshipers and learning the stages of purification that are part of Thai Theravada teachings. | Mr. Alexis attended meditation sessions at a nearby Buddhist temple, Wat Busayadhammavanaram, chanting and praying with the mostly Southeast Asian worshipers and learning the stages of purification that are part of Thai Theravada teachings. |
| “People have free will to commit wrongs or rights,” according to a Web site explaining the Theravadan school. “Evil doings may result when egoism, cravings, attachments, and ignorance are expressed as greed, hatred, and violence, which, if unmitigated, is perpetuated through rebirth.” | “People have free will to commit wrongs or rights,” according to a Web site explaining the Theravadan school. “Evil doings may result when egoism, cravings, attachments, and ignorance are expressed as greed, hatred, and violence, which, if unmitigated, is perpetuated through rebirth.” |
| Mr. Alexis learned to speak Thai, studying at night at Happy Bowl and visiting Thailand. Not everyone believed he was devoted to Buddhist principles, though. Michael Ritrovato, who met Mr. Alexis at an Asian festival, said he seemed more interested in finding ways to meet Thai women. “Maybe he meditated,” Mr. Ritrovato said. “But he wasn’t like the monks.” He added, “He was a big-time Asian-girl person.” | |
| A few of Mr. Alexis’ friends in the Fort Worth area said he drank often. “We’d go to any kind of bar,” Mr. Suthamtewakul said. | |
| He said he noticed nothing of concern in Mr. Alexis’ behavior during the early summer, other than his persistent worry about his car. One night he got up at 2 a.m. to check on it, flashlight in hand, Mr. Suthamtewakul recalled. “He constantly think that someone was going to take something from him or try to damage his property,” he said. | |
| But in July, relations between the Suthamtewakuls, who had recently married, and Mr. Alexis became strained. He complained that their cat had fleas and stole food from the refrigerator, according to Ms. Suthamtewakul. He complained that Mr. Suthamtewakul no longer had time to spend with him. He owed them money, she said. | But in July, relations between the Suthamtewakuls, who had recently married, and Mr. Alexis became strained. He complained that their cat had fleas and stole food from the refrigerator, according to Ms. Suthamtewakul. He complained that Mr. Suthamtewakul no longer had time to spend with him. He owed them money, she said. |
| On July 5, Mr. Suthamtewakul filed a police report accusing Mr. Alexis of putting sugar in the gas tank of his Honda Accord. And soon after, Mr. Alexis left, moving in with his friend Ms. Downs and her husband. | On July 5, Mr. Suthamtewakul filed a police report accusing Mr. Alexis of putting sugar in the gas tank of his Honda Accord. And soon after, Mr. Alexis left, moving in with his friend Ms. Downs and her husband. |
| “I got married, and I wanted to spend time with my wife, and he understand,” Mr. Suthamtewakul said. “He might have a little problem with my wife, but for me, we’ve been friends.” | “I got married, and I wanted to spend time with my wife, and he understand,” Mr. Suthamtewakul said. “He might have a little problem with my wife, but for me, we’ve been friends.” |
| Ms. Downs saw the breakup of the household differently, saying Ms. Suthamtewakul had driven Mr. Alexis out. | Ms. Downs saw the breakup of the household differently, saying Ms. Suthamtewakul had driven Mr. Alexis out. |
| Still, she said, she could not think of anything in Mr. Alexis’ life that “would cause this type of reaction” and noted that before leaving Texas, he had put his belongings in storage. “He was planning on returning,” she said. | Still, she said, she could not think of anything in Mr. Alexis’ life that “would cause this type of reaction” and noted that before leaving Texas, he had put his belongings in storage. “He was planning on returning,” she said. |
Reporting was contributed by Trip Gabriel, Joe Goldstein and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington; Lauren | Reporting was contributed by Trip Gabriel, Joe Goldstein and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington; Lauren D’Avolio from Fort Worth; Nate Schweber from New York; Kirk Johnson from Seattle and Kim Severson from Atlanta. |