Aaron Alexis and the 2013 Washington Navy Yard Massacre
The Washington Navy Yard Shooting
On September 16, 2013, Aaron Alexis carried out a mass shooting inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist working as a civilian information-technology contractor, entered the secure military installation with valid credentials. He concealed a shortened Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun inside a shoulder bag and used his familiarity with the building to move through the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command.
Alexis killed 12 civilian employees and contractors during the attack. Eight other people suffered injuries, including three who were wounded by gunfire. The shooting ended after an extended confrontation with law-enforcement officers, who fatally shot Alexis inside the building. Including Alexis, 13 people died at the Washington Navy Yard that morning.
Arrival and Preparation
Alexis arrived at the Washington Navy Yard in a rented Toyota Prius at approximately 7:53 a.m. on September 16. He possessed a valid access card because his employer had assigned him to perform computer-network work for the Navy. Security personnel permitted him to enter the installation without knowing that a disassembled shotgun was hidden inside his bag.
At approximately 8:08 a.m., Alexis entered Building 197 through its main entrance. He traveled to the fourth floor, an area where he had recently worked, and entered a restroom. Investigators determined that he assembled the shotgun there before walking into a large fourth-floor office area containing rows of cubicles surrounding an open atrium.
The Attack Begins
At approximately 8:16 a.m., Alexis began firing at employees in the fourth-floor work area. The first emergency calls were placed within about a minute. Workers attempted to hide beneath desks, barricade office doors or escape through stairwells while alarms and warnings spread through the building.
Alexis moved through the fourth floor and fired at people in offices and cubicles. Within the first several minutes, he had killed multiple employees and wounded others. He then moved to the third floor, where he continued shooting. The building's open atrium allowed him to observe people on different levels and fire from elevated positions.
During the attack, Alexis obtained a Beretta M9 pistol from security officer Richard Michael Ridgell after killing him. Alexis then used both the shotgun and the stolen handgun as police officers entered Building 197 and searched for the gunman.
Victims Killed on September 16, 2013
- Michael Arnold, 59, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Martin Bodrog, 54, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Arthur Daniels, 51, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Sylvia Frasier, 53, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Kathleen Gaarde, 62, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- John Roger Johnson, 73, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Mary Frances Knight, 51, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Frank Kohler, 50, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Vishnu Pandit, 61, was shot inside Building 197 and later died at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Gerald Read, 58, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
- Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, a security officer, was killed inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on September 16, 2013.
Police Response and Final Confrontation
Metropolitan Police Department officers, United States Park Police personnel, Navy security officers and other law-enforcement agencies responded to the Navy Yard. Officers entered Building 197 while employees were still sheltering in offices and while uncertainty remained about the number of attackers.
Alexis exchanged gunfire with responding officers as tactical teams searched the building. Metropolitan Police Officer Scott Williams was shot in both legs during the response but survived. Two civilian women also suffered gunshot wounds, and other people were injured while escaping or sheltering during the attack.
Police initially received reports suggesting that more than one gunman might be involved. Authorities released descriptions of possible additional suspects, but investigators later determined that Alexis had acted alone. The confusion reflected the size of the building, the movement of armed responding officers and conflicting witness accounts during the emergency.
At approximately 9:25 a.m., officers confronted Alexis on the third floor. After Alexis fired at police from a concealed position, officers returned fire and killed him. The confrontation ended approximately 69 minutes after the first shots were reported.
Alexis's Background
Aaron Alexis was born on May 9, 1979, in Queens, New York. He enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve in 2007 and served as an aviation electrician's mate. The Navy discharged him in January 2011 following a series of disciplinary and behavioral problems. Despite those problems and previous encounters with police, he retained a security clearance that allowed him to work as a government contractor.
Alexis had previously been involved in firearm-related incidents. In 2004, Seattle police arrested him after he shot the tires of a construction worker's vehicle during a dispute. Alexis claimed the shooting had been an angry reaction and that he had experienced a blackout. The charge was eventually dismissed.
In 2010, police in Fort Worth, Texas, investigated Alexis after he fired a bullet through the ceiling of his apartment and into the residence of a woman living above him. Alexis said the gun had discharged accidentally while he was cleaning it. He was arrested, but the case did not result in a felony conviction that would have prevented him from legally purchasing another firearm.
Deteriorating Mental Condition
During the weeks before the Navy Yard massacre, Alexis displayed increasingly severe paranoia and reported hearing voices. On August 2, 2013, he contacted police in Newport, Rhode Island, and claimed that people were following him and using a microwave device to send vibrations through walls and into his body. He also said voices were preventing him from sleeping.
Naval police were called to his hotel at Naval Station Newport on August 4 after he dismantled his bed because he believed someone was hiding beneath it. He reportedly placed recording equipment in his room in an attempt to document the people he believed were harassing him.
Alexis later sought medical treatment for insomnia. On August 23, he visited a hospital emergency department in Providence, Rhode Island, and received a prescription for trazodone. On August 28, he went to a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Washington, D.C. He denied being depressed and denied having thoughts of harming himself or other people. He was given additional medication for sleep.
Investigators later found writings indicating that Alexis believed he was being controlled or tormented by extremely low-frequency electromagnetic waves. The FBI concluded that he was suffering from delusional beliefs and found no evidence that the massacre had been directed by a terrorist organization or another person.
Purchase of the Murder Weapon
On September 14, 2013, two days before the attack, Alexis visited a firearms store and shooting range in Lorton, Virginia. He tested an AR-15-style rifle and asked about purchasing a handgun. Because he was a Texas resident, federal restrictions prevented the store from directly selling him a handgun in Virginia.
Alexis instead purchased a Remington 870 Express Tactical 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition after passing the required background checks. Before taking the weapon into the Navy Yard, he shortened parts of the shotgun so that it could be concealed more easily. Investigators also discovered phrases scratched into the firearm that referred to his delusions and his desire to end what he described as torment.
Security and Clearance Failures
The massacre exposed serious weaknesses in the federal security-clearance system. Alexis had maintained access to sensitive government facilities despite his disciplinary history, firearm incidents, emotional instability and recent encounters with police. Information concerning his worsening condition was not effectively communicated among his employer, law enforcement, medical providers and Navy security officials.
Alexis's employer, The Experts, had sent him to perform contract work at military facilities. Supervisors became aware that he was behaving erratically while working in Rhode Island, but the concerns did not lead to the immediate suspension of his clearance or access credentials. Consequently, he was able to enter the Washington Navy Yard legally while carrying the concealed shotgun.
Government investigations conducted after the shooting criticized failures in personnel monitoring, contractor reporting and physical security. Reviews concluded that stronger communication and proper enforcement of existing procedures might have interrupted the sequence of events that allowed Alexis to enter Building 197.
Aftermath
The Washington Navy Yard was placed under lockdown as authorities searched the installation and evacuated employees. Streets, schools and government buildings in the surrounding area were temporarily closed or secured. Families waited for information while investigators worked to identify the dead and determine whether additional attackers remained at large.
The 12 victims were civilian employees and contractors who supported Navy operations. Memorial services were held in Washington, D.C., and in the victims' home communities. Their deaths led to renewed scrutiny of workplace security, government contractors, firearm background checks and the procedures used to grant and maintain federal security clearances.
Aaron Alexis died on September 16, 2013, inside Building 197 at the Washington Navy Yard. Investigators determined that he acted alone and that his actions were strongly connected to severe paranoid delusions. The attack remains one of the deadliest mass shootings at a United States military installation and one of the deadliest acts of mass murder in the history of Washington, D.C.
