The 34-year-old Texan who carried out this week’s deadly shooting at the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard (alone, apparently) is a former U.S. Navy technician who was discharged in January 2011 due to discipline problems.
“There is definitely a pattern of misconduct during his service,” a military officer said of Aaron Alexis, who is now considered the lone gunman in the Navy Yard attack that killed twelve people and wounded eight others.
Alexis was shot and killed during the attack.
Prior to his discharge, Alexis obtained the rank of Aviation Electrician´s Mate Third Class. At the time of the shooting, he was working as an information technology consultant for a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard. It’s not yet clear whether this position afforded him access to the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters – where the shooting occurred.
According to the Associated Press, law enforcement sources described Alexis as suffering from paranoia as well as a sleep disorder. These sources say Alexis “heard voices in his head” and had been receiving treatment over the last few weeks courtesy of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In addition to his military discipline issues, Alexis was also previously investigated for firearm-related incidents in Forth Worth, Texas and Seattle, Washington. In the Seattle incident – which took place in 2004 – Alexis fired three shots into the parked car of one of his co-workers. According to police reports Alexis claimed the worker had “mocked” and “disrespected” him.
Six years later he fired a shot into the apartment of an upstairs neighbor after previously complaining about noise emanating from her apartment.
Those who knew Alexis are divided as to the sort of person he was … on the one hand, some are describing him as a brooding malcontent who felt “slighted” by the world. Others remember him as a kind, intelligent disciple of Buddha – who was adept at chanting in Thai and one day planned to become a Buddhist monk.
No theory has yet emerged regarding Alexis’ motivation for carrying out such an attack.
“We’ll continue to seek information about what the motive is,” Washington D.C. mayor Vincent Gray said. “We don’t have any reason at this stage to suspect terrorism, but certainly it has not been ruled out.”
29 comments
This national news. I don’t come here for national news.
National news is pretty much ALL this site is doing lately.
It missed Hugh Leatherman fouling his nest with Florence County Council and Alan Wilson suing Florence …at Hugh’s bidding?
This was all over the SCNOW site the past 7-10 days.
When did Sic ever miss a chance to jump Hugh?
Jean Toal is going to protect her bud, Hugh and therefore, the lawsuit is not news. Jean will protect those who can vote for her so she can squeeze a few more days of corruption into that term she’s got going. Vinny? How are you going to vote?
Hey, Hoss, CNN is just a mouse click away.
FITSNEWS is BIGTIME now.
Go big or go home.
What part of This national news. I don’t come here for national news are you not getting?
Oops.
Sorry.
So he was discharged (presumably not honorably) and then quickly snapped up by a contractor working at a military facility? Is that not part of the security clearance procedure? Why even bother with clearances if someone with a bad service record, repeated suspicious gun discharges, and mental issues can pass so easily.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/suspected-us-shooter-ha_n_3938005.html
Yeah, but the once GOP likes destroying government jobs to give them to their cronies with government contracts.
As long as the crony capitalist contractors are kicking back campaign contributions, what does it matter if they’re hiring the likes of Snowden and Alexis and how many 10s of thousands like them?
LOL. The left never disappoints in trying to blame Republicans for everything. Nevermind that Obama’s most cherished economic principle is corporatism. This is a bipartisan disease to be sure, but at least Republicans do so in violation of the free market principles they claim to follow.
It’s all the fault of the sequestration!
*TBG just wanted to make sure spellcheck was on the job.
When I was in the Navy, we had a guy in my division busted for cocaine. He was kicked out and within 2 weeks back on the same ship as a contractor. We were stationed at the Charleston Naval Shipyard at the time. That was back in 1995, apparently it hasn’t changed since then.
Craziness. I have seen it reported that he did get an honorable discharge, although he was apparently forced out through “an early discharge through a special program for enlisted personnel”. Seems a SECURITY clearance at a military facility would be able to suss out his disciplinary issues while serving in the military.
So, basically, this guy should have been put in jail or a mental institution a long time ago, but for whatever reason he wasn’t? Great.
Those who knew Alexis are divided as to the sort of person he was … on the one hand, some are describing him as a brooding malcontent who felt “slighted” by the world. Others remember him as a kind, intelligent disciple of Buddha – who was adept at chanting in Thai and one day planned to become a Buddhist monk.
TBG is casting his lot with the “brooding malcontent” proponents.
All the more reason to have thorough background checks of every gun owner and potential gun buyers.
Idiot, it’s not a gun background check issue…he had ‘secret’ clearance which is more than a backround check!
Not to mention he went through multiple background screens if he in fact bought the shotgun in Virginia. The problem here is he walked every time he used a gun – we know of at least three events that involved illegal use of a gun and he was never tried on a single event, discharged a firearm in the house – nothing. Shot up someone’s car – nothing. Fired shots into the apartment above his while “cleaning his gun” – nothing.
He was also being seen for “severe mental disorder” at the VA. Had just one of those firearms incidents been prosecuted or had his mental disorders been reported – or had the Navy had the balls to give him a bad conduct discharge he would not have been able to legally obtain a firearm.
Dumb Ass!
Looks like he fell off the Buddhist bandwagon as well as the sanity bandwagon.
I don’t think he was ever on the “sanity band wagon”.
This was great for NRA officials…..gun sales will go up…..because someone will now be coming to get their guns Right up there with taking my country back..
I think I know why they call you Bogart. Pass me some of that shit!
Aaron Alexis is a mystery MAN…??
Well…..his email history is …KNOWN….
…his daily movements are ….KNOWN….
….his communications activities are ….known….
……just about everything this contractor did on a daily basis is …KNOWN….
What is also known is that the “Hearts and Minds” for Nidal Hassan and this Mr Alexis were not informed of “all” the information that should have prevented these attacks in the first place. Does anyone stop to ask what the real difference is between someone with a “constructive” mind and a “destructive” mind are..? Obviously, Mr. Alexis did not stop to consider that the 12 citizens he killed were fellow TAX PAYERS.
This will be another case study in media “divulgence” and story telling…….
Sooooo, our federal government NEEDS TO KNOW EVERYTHING about our activities and communications to PREVENT AND PROTECT US from this type of danger. Weeeeeeellll, hasn’t worked so far has it? (DC & Boston)………..
No, Shifty…..you know that…!!
Its everyday citizens that know and choose NOT to speak up…or fail to continue to SCREAM when no one listens.
Think back to all the concerned people who were quoted after the Hassan fiasco..!
Just think if Hassan and Mr. Alexis and Eric Snowden had used the comment section of FITSNEWS…….instead of acting the way they did?
How would the ramifications be different…??
“divulgence”
Well done.
The docs obviously were asleep at the wheel when they didn’t slap a diagnosis on him for “hearing voices in his head”. OMG
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/17/Navy-Yard-Shooter-friend-Describes%20Alexis-as-liberal-Obama-fan
Obama, democrats and RINOS are responsible for these murders.