Washington - A United States military veteran opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday in a burst of violence that killed 13 people, including the gunman, and set off waves of panic at the military installation just a few kilometres from the White House and US Capitol.
The FBI identified the suspect as Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, a Navy contractor who had two gun-related brushes with the law. He was discharged from the Navy Reserve in 2011 after a series of misconduct issues, a Navy official said.
He was killed in one of several gun battles with police after he entered the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters at 8.20am (12h20 GMT) and started picking off victims in a cafeteria from a fourth-floor atrium, witnesses said.
That set off pandemonium, with fire alarms sounding and security officers yelling at people to leave the building. Hundreds fled, some scrambling over walls to escape the gunfire. A loudspeaker announcement ordered those who remained to stay in their offices.
The motive remained unknown. He was armed with an AR-15 military-style assault rifle, a double-barrelled shotgun and a handgun, a federal law enforcement source said.
About 12 people were injured, Washington Mayor Vincent Gray said, though it was unclear how many of them were shot. About 3 000 people worked in the building.
Hours later, police were searching for a possible second suspect in an incident that raised questions about security at the Washington Navy Yard, south of the US Capitol and 5km from the White House.
Police patrol officers and active shooter teams put an end to the rampage, shooting Alexis dead. Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the gun battles produced acts of heroism she could not yet reveal.
“Everybody was panicking and trying to decide which way to get out. A few of us just ran out the side exit,” Patricia Ward, who works at the Navy Yard, told reporters.
Security guards told people to “run, run, run”, Ward said.
It was the worst attack at a US military installation since US Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire on unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 31 others. Hasan, who said he acted in retaliation for US wars in Muslim countries, was convicted and sentenced to death by a military jury in August.
“We are confronting yet another mass shooting, and today it happened at another military installation, in our nation's capital,” said US President Barack Obama, who vowed to enact “sensible” gun control measures after a gunman shot dead 20 school children and six adults at an elementary school in Connecticut last December.
Alexis, a one-time Texas resident who was known to worship at a Buddhist temple, served in the military and most recently was furthering his education while holding a job in the private sector, his father, Algernon Alexis, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“This comes as a complete shock,” the elder Alexis said when told his son was the suspected shooter.
Alexis served full time in the US Navy's Reserve from May 2007 to January 2011, becoming an aviation electrician, and he received the National Defence Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a Navy official told Reuters.
He was recently hired as a civilian information technology contractor to work on the Navy and Marine Corps intranet and was given a security clearance classified as “secret”, his company's chief executive told Reuters.
“He did have a secret clearance. And he did have a CAC (common access card),” said Thomas Hoshko, CEO of the company, called The Experts.
Alexis was arrested on September 4, 2010, in Fort Worth, Texas, on a misdemeanour charge of discharging a firearm but the case was dropped when investigators determined he was cleaning his gun and it accidentally fired, Tarrant County prosecutors said.
He was also arrested in Seattle in 2004 for shooting out a construction worker's car tyres in an anger-fuelled “blackout” triggered by perceived “disrespect”, according to the Seattle Police Department.
In recent years, he developed a love for Thai culture, learning to speak the language and working at the “Happy Bowl” restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2008, said Tiki Confer, 64, owner of another Thai restaurant nearby. He worshipped at a Buddhist temple, she said.
“He was a very nice boy. When I saw his picture on the news, I was shocked,” Confer told Reuters.
The shooting rattled the US capital, forcing the Federal Aviation Administration to briefly suspend departures at Reagan National Airport. The District of Columbia Public Schools put six schools and an administration building on lockdown as a precaution.
The Washington Nationals baseball team postponed their game against the Atlanta Braves scheduled for Monday night at nearby Nationals Park.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus called the Navy Yard shootings “an attack on the Navy family”, and the shooting revealed a potentially serious security breach.
Military personnel are generally banned from carrying weapons on military installations but most people with proper credentials are not routinely checked for firearms.
“It will be interesting to see as this develops who the shooter is, how he got in,” said Navy Commander Tim Jirus, who was in charge of evacuating the building. “Right now a lot of people are wondering just how safe the building is or just how safe the office environment is.” - Reuters