D.C. Navy Yard Shooting: Aaron Alexis Identified as Main Suspect, Connections to Military Contractor

This comes days after Al-Qaeda’s leader asked for terrorist attacks in the United States, though it’s unclear at this time if this event is connected.

Activist Post updates added below with contact info. for family members:

Two shooters were initially reported at the Navy Yard – one wearing fatigues, another in all black – reports now say that both have been taken down. One of the shooters is now reported to have been killed. He was initially identified as a former Navy official in his 50s. However, D.C. Police Chief Lanier issued a statement moments ago that one shooter is confirmed dead, but there might be two more still on the loose. The suspected shooter is now being identified as a 34-year-old Texas man, born in New York City, Aaron Alexis. 

The FBI has posted the following background information: http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seeking-info/aaron-alexis

One of 2 or three suspected shooters, Aaron Alexis, 34.

Additionally, it is being reported that Alexis was a full-time active duty Navy reservist from May 2007 until January 2011. He was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas 2010 on a gun-related incident, but was not charged and was released from jail the following day. (Source)

The building that appears to have been targeted is the headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems command. Among the confirmed wounded are a naval security guard, as well as a D.C. police officer, with one other possible officer; the other victim(s) appear to be civilian. Interestingly, reports indicate that “the same Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives team that assisted with the Boston Marathon bombing have been deployed to Navy Yard.” (source) A live update with the press can be found here. Two eyewitnesses describe seeing the shooter as he targeted their group, but he missed. Early reports indicate that multiple weapons were used including a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun and handgun.

The U.S. Navy has tweeted that “Family members looking for information about their loved ones can call 202-433-6151 or 202-433-9713.”

Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to call 202-727-9099.

It’s worth noting that the D.C. “gun free zone” does not seemed to have thwarted these two shooters, nor does it seemed to have helped defend those who were targeted. A note on our Facebook page also mentions that NY Congressman Peter King has stated that this looks like a “lone wolf” attack, as he mentioned the use of an AR-15.

Obama is now speaking live on the situation, saying:

“We are confronting yet another mass shooting.”

“And today it happened in a military installation in our nation’s capital,” Obama said. 

“We will do everything in our power to make sure whoever carried out this cowardly act will be held responsible.” (Source)

The official livestream is on the topic of the supposed recovery of the financial crisis.

Star-Telegram reports on Alexis’ travels prior to the shooting:

Alexis had recently visited Thailand and had been to Japan with a computer defense contractor, where he worked in information technology, said Sandy Guerra-Cline, a customer at Happy Bowl and copy editor at the Star-Telegram.

Star-Telegram also covers conflicting reports about the personality of the accused, ranging from those who were scared of him to those who felt it was describe him as quiet, reserved, and polite. He is believed to have been a member of a Buddhist Temple. Read full details here.

This just in from Reuters:

Aaron Alexis, the 34-year-old suspect in Monday’s shooting rampage at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, was an employee of a company called “The Experts,” a subcontractor for an HP Enterprise Services military contract, Hewlett-Packard said. 

HP said the contract was “to refresh equipment used on the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) network.” 

“HP is cooperating fully with law enforcement as requested,” Michael Thacker, director of corporate media relations for Hewlett-Packard, said in a statement. (source)

According to the website for The Experts:

The Experts was incorporated in 1998 providing IT Consulting Services in South Florida. Since then, the company has expanded globally providing of IT, engineering, telecom and business process solutions to support our customers in banking, defense, energy, financial, insurance, manufacturing and transportation industries, as well as Local, State and Federal Government worldwide through our rapid deployment, best practices and Expert resources. (Source: About Us) 

The Experts is a global provider of IT, engineering, telecom and business process solutions – deploying best practices to customers in the public and private sectors. Our technology solutions and services support FORTUNE 1000 organizations around the world and are deployed alongside our trusted personnel supporting the war fighter abroad and domestic policy at home. (source: Home Page)

Jon Rappoport also raises questions about the drills that have been going on in the very same location, which have coincidentally involved active shooters.

Two tweets may or not be be relevant here: 

Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) (NBC 4 I-team reporter, Washington DC—unless someone has hijacked his twitter account): “Navy ran mass shooting drill in Feb-March at Navy Yard. Part of nationwide ‘Citadel shield’ security program.” 

Jonathan Feng (@jonfeng1): “There was one active shooter drill during my time at Navy Yard. I was stuck inside a building while getting lunch. Guess which building.” 

Several other tweets (unconfirmed info) claim a drill took place at the Navy Yard several days ago. 

Several mass killings (e.g., Aurora, Boston bombing) took place at the same time as, or close to the time of, official terror drills, suggesting several possibilities—one being the drills were prepping for an intentional op. 

As navy.mil reports, in March of 2012, not 2013, a Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield exercise took place, “designed to test the service’s ability to respond to nation-wide threats to its installations, units, personnel and families.” 

Adm. John C Harvey Jr. stated, “Overall, it was a resounding success…” (Source)

As we have learned many times before, terror drills are a key marker within real events.

Jon Rappoport also asked the question of whether or not the the shooter may have been on psychiatric meds, as was also apparent in most of the other mass shooting incidents. Indeed, it is worthy of consideration, as the newest post states that Alexis mentioned having PTSD and “anger issues” following involvement in rescue operations during 9/11. Read the full report at Mail Online with images.