Aaron Alexis Identified As Navy Yard Shooter, Worked As Civilian Contractor
Aaron Alexis has been identified by authorities as the alleged Navy Yard shooter in an incident that left at least 12 people dead in Washington, D.C.
Alexis is a 34-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas, who recently began work as a civilian contractor, authorities said. FBI officials say they believe that Aaron Alexis used the identification badge of a man who used to work at Navy Yard, which may have led to some incorrect initial reports.
Several news outlets, including NBC News, USA Today, and CBS News, had identified Alexis as the alleged shooter.
But many of these outlets, including CBS and NBC, originally reported that the name on the identification was the Navy Yard shooter, but these outlets soon retracted their reports. There were also false reports of a shooting at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington.
Details about the shooting are still hazy, and police have said that they are searching for at least possible additional gunmen. There were initially two persons of interest, but one had been cleared by Monday afternoon. The Department of Homeland Security has said the attack does not appear to be an act of terrorism.
Shortly after the shooting, with the situation still ongoing, President Obama addressed the nation about the attack.
“We do know that several people have been shot, and some have been killed,” he said. “So we are confronting yet another mass shooting, and today it happened on a military installation in our nation’s capital. It’s a shooting that targeted military and civilian personnel. These are men and women going to work, doing their job protecting all of us. They’re patriots, and they know the dangers of serving abroad, but today they faced the unimaginable violence that they wouldn’t have expected here at home.”
Details about Alexis emerged on Monday afternoon, including a possible arrest on a gun charge in 2010.
Authorities said that Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis was among the 12 people dead in the attack.
