PHOTOS: Navy Yard shooting
Alexis went through training at north suburban Great Lakes in 2007. The motive and whether there are accomplices are still mysteries on Monday afternoon, but eight hours after shots were fired on the Navy Yard in Washington, it is clear what happened. There was fear, bloodshed and chaos in a place where it was totally unexpected.
At one of the military's highest security facilities, an intruder with a rifle. As sirens wailed, people ran for their lives, including U.S. Navy Commander Tim Jirus, who was next to a man in an alleyway who took a round in the head.
"We had two gunshots that went off near us. One hit him, he fell down. I ran from there after that," said Cmdr. Tom Jirus, U.S. Navy.
"As far as we know this is an isolated incident," said Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Washington, D.C.
At first isolated to the fourth floor of building 197. When the gun smoke cleared, there were more than a dozen dead including this man, 34-year-old Aaron Alexis, a former Navy reservist who went through basic training in Illinois.
Alexis, a Fort Worth, Texas native, may have been disguised as a military officer and authorities suspect he used someone else's I.D. to get onto the base.
According to this FBI record and court files, he was arrested three years ago in Texas when a gun in his hands fired, shooting a bullet through the apartment of an upstairs neighbor. He told investigators he was cleaning the gun and it went off.
"We potentially have two other shooters that we have not located yet at this point," said Chief Cathy Lanier, Washington D.C. Metro Police Department.
Police said they were searching for two men who may have taken part in the attack, one carrying a handgun and wearing a tan navy-style uniform and a beret, the other armed with a long gun and wearing an olive-green uniform. Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier said it was unclear if the men were members of the military, or if they even exist.
The attack took place near Washington Reagan airport and not far from the Capitol and the White House. The nearby stadium where the Washington Nationals play will be empty Monday night as the game has been postponed. Investigators now say three guns were found on the shooter, an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a shotgun and a semi-automatic pistol. Odds are he did not carry all those onto the base; the thinking is that he obtained some or all of the guns after he got to the facility.
