At least 13 people were killed Monday morning when a Fort Worth, Tex. man opened fire inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard at approximately 8:15 a.m.
“We saw a man down the hall with a rifle, and he aimed at us,” describes witness Terrie Durham. “He shot and missed and we were all yelling for people to get out of the building.”
People ran as Navy Commander Tim Jirus helped guide the evacuation, and then witnessed an unfathomable horror when a man next to him was hit and fell.
“I heard two shots and looked in the direction the gunshots were coming from; I looked down, and the man standing next to me was down in front of me on the ground,” says Jirus.
At about that time, just seven minutes after the first call for help, police were already rushing in. There was gunfire still going as police ran toward the gunfire and soon found the gunman – now identified as 34-year-old civilian IT contractor Aaron Alexis.
According to MPD Chief Lanier, one MPD officer was shot and wounded by the shooter. He suffered gunshot wounds to his legs.
Alexis was from Texas, but had reportedly been working in the area since August. Due to his unwillingness to surrender, in one final gun battle, both MPD and U.S. Park Police shot at the suspect multiple times until he fell, dead.
However, nobody knew for sure whether Alexis was acting alone.
Helicopters swooped in to evacuate a wounded person from the roof of the building, and thousands of employees at the Navy Sea Systems Command sheltered in place for hours as police went door to door.
But even with the death count at 13 (including the gunman) and wounded at 14, Chief Cathy Lanier says it could have been far worse: “There’s no question he would have kept shooting.”
D.C. Mayor Gray said a motive is still unknown in the rampage. He added that that terrorism can’t be ruled out but said he has no reason to believe the shooting is terrorism-related.
“We had a horrific tragedy,” said Gray. “This is an isolated incident and an active investigation.”
The shooting occurred at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command on Isaac Hull Avenue on the grounds of the historic Navy Yard.
At least three of those wounded were taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, including the D.C. police officer. All of those victims are expected to survive.
Officials at George Washington University Hospital say, though, that one of the victims taken to their facility died after a gunshot wound to the temple.
The shooting incident caused major traffic issues and other problems for the D.C. area. The 11th Street Bridge’s northbound lane remains shut down while authorities shut down the U.S. Senate.
The Nationals gave against the Atlanta Braves is also postponed.
A number of District of Columbia schools, both public and private, remain on lockdown as the investigation into the shooting continues.
The following D.C. schools are on lockdown: Amidon-Bowen Elementary, Brent Elementary School, Eastern High School, Eliot-Hine Middle School, Jefferson Academy, Tyler Elementary School and Van Ness Administrative Building.
According to a Monday night press conference, traffic will reportedly be back to normal on Tuesday, with all previously closed bridges and streets back open. Chief Lanier especially thanked first responders and their teamwork that went into helping the situation, coordinating three different jurisdictions in 45 minutes.
Family members of Washington Navy Yard employees who want information on the shooting can call 202-433-6151.
FBI identifies Aaron Alexis as shooter
Alexis was a 34-year-old from Texas. He is believed to have a criminal record there and to be a holder of a concealed carry weapon permit.
He was a full-time Navy reservist, based in Texas, when he left service in 2011.
Alexis had been working for the fleet logistics support squadron No. 46, in Fort Worth, Texas. The Navy says his home of record was New York City.
The military reports he enlisted on May 5, 2007. He received the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
That official says Alexis is believed to have gotten into the Navy Yard by using someone else’s identification card. It is not yet clear if that individual was an accomplice or if that person’s ID card was stolen.
Defense officials say Alexis was currently working as a defense department contractor, but it’s not clear if he was assigned at the military base in southeast D.C.
Alexis was working as an information technology contractor, but it was not known which company employed him. As a contractor, he could have had a badge that might have gained him access to the base. Alexis was a former Navy reservist, serving from 2007 to early 2011.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University also says he was an online student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics. He started classes in July 2012.
Witnesses recount shooting
Rick Mason, a program management analyst who is a civilian with the U.S. Navy, said a gunman was shooting from a fourth floor overlook in the hallway outside his office. He said the gunman was aiming down at people in the building’s cafeteria on the first floor. Mason said he could hear the shots but could not see a gunman.
Shortly after the gunfire, Mason said overhead speakers told workers to seek shelter and later to head for the gates at the complex.
Patricia Ward, a logistics management specialist, said she was in the cafeteria and heard shots. They sounded like “pop, pop, pop,” she said. After a few seconds, there were more shots, she said.
“Everybody just panicked at first,” she said. “It was just people running, running, running.”
Ward said security officers started directing people out of the building with guns drawn.
Cmdr. Tim Jirus was standing next to a colleague having a conversation when his colleague was shot.
“I saw him drop in front of me (and) I left at that point,” Jirus said. “I ran behind the building and jumped behind a fence.”
Commander Jirus said he didn’t see the shooter and only heard shots.
“I feel very lucky to be standing here as opposed to somewhere else,” he said.
Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and other co-workers encountered a gunman in a long hallway on the third floor. The gunman was wearing all blue, he said.
“He just turned and started firing,” Brundidge said.
Terrie Durham, an executive assistant with the same agency, said she also saw the gunman firing toward her and Brundidge.
“He aimed high and missed,” she said. “He said nothing. As soon as I realized he was shooting, we just said, ‘Get out of the building.'”
President Obama calls victims “courageous Americans”
President Barack Obama is mourning what he called “yet another mass shooting” in the United States that he says took the life of American patriots.
Obama promised to make sure, quote, “Whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.”
He said several people were shot Monday morning at the Washington Navy Yard about 3 1/2 miles from the White House, and some were killed.
On Monday evening, the Navy Vice Admiral confirmed that all 12 victims at the shooting were civilians, and 14 people were wounded.
Obama said these victims were “courageous Americans” who knew about the risks of serving overseas, but wouldn’t have expected such “unimaginable violence” at home.
Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the Navy’s five system commands and accounts for a quarter of the Navy’s entire budget.
It builds, buys and maintains the Navy’s ships and submarines and their combat systems.
Officials say 3,000 people work in the building, where authorities are still looking for the shooter.