Aaron Alexis. Photograph courtesy of the FBI
The gunman who died in a gun battle with police after killing 12 people and injuring eight others in the Washington Navy Yard yesterday has been identified as former US Navy serviceman Aaron Alexis.
US President Obama called the mass shooting “cowardly” and has ordered flags to be lowered to half mast in respect for those who lost their lives in the attack.
No motive has yet been discovered for the attack by Alexis, a 34 year-old man from Fort Worth, Texas who was ranked as petty officer 3rd class when he was discharged in 2011. He is reported to be a convert to Buddhism, and had been arrested twice before over gun-related offences in 2004 and 2010.
It is not clear why Alexis left the military, although there are reports of a number of misconduct issues that may have led to his discharge.
Alexis was on the US naval base with a valid pass as he was working for an IT subcontractor on the US Navy intranet system, and was reportedly armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun which he stole form a police officer at the scene.
As the US was on edge yesterday after another gun rampage leaves many people dead, a man reportedly threw some “firecracker” fireworks over the fence onto the White House lawn. The noise, which sounds like gunfires, resulted in a full scale security response as uniformed security agents sealed off the front lawn and the man being wrestled to the ground. He has since been arrested and will be charged with “throwing projectiles” according to agents on the scene.
