Navy Yard gunman had a history of violence

Reuters/WashingtonThe US Navy yesterday ordered a review of security at all of its facilities as questions arose about how a former serviceman with a history of violence and mental illness received clearance to work at a base where he killed 12 people before police shot him dead.The suspect, Aaron Alexis, 34, a Navy contractor from Fort Worth, Texas, entered Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning and opened fire, spreading panic at the base just a mile and a half (2.5km) from the US Capitol and three miles (5km) from the White House.Alexis’ employer said he worked in at least six installations in July and August without incident. Alexis was employed by a company called The Experts, a subcontractor for Hewlett-Packard that serviced computer equipment, the company said.He had been given clearance to enter the base on the Anacostia River despite two gun-related brushes with the law and a discharge from the Navy Reserve in 2011 after a series of what a Navy official described as “misconduct issues.”CNN reported that Alexis had contacted two Veterans Administration hospitals recently and was believed to be seeking psychological help.“It really is hard to believe that someone with a record as checkered as this man could conceivably get, you know, clearance to get ... credentials to be able to get on the base,” Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray told CNN.In the wake of the latest mass shooting in the US and questions about security at guarded buildings, US Navy Secretary Ray Mabus yesterday ordered a review of physical security at all Navy and Marine Corps installations.A Navy official said authorities would first take a “quick look” at installations to ensure existing physical security standards are being met. The second review will be larger and more in-depth, the official said.Investigators are still trying to determine the man’s motive for the shooting.Separately, Congressman Michael Turner asked for Defence Department officials to release information on an inspector general’s audit of its system for controlling civilian workers’ access to military bases.The Navy may have “implemented an unproven system in order to cut costs,” Turner, an Ohio Republican, said in a letter dated Monday to Lynne Halbrooks, the Pentagon’s acting inspector general.“Potentially numerous felons may have been able to gain unrestricted access to several military installations across the country,” said Turner, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.Military personnel are generally banned from carrying weapons on bases in the US but most people with proper credentials are not routinely checked for firearms.Monday’s shooting was the worst attack at a base since US Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire on unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, killing 13 people and wounding 31 others. Hasan, who said he acted in retaliation for US wars in Muslim countries, was convicted and sentenced to death by a military jury in August.In Monday’s rampage, Alexis entered the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters about 8:20am (1220 GMT) and started picking off victims in a cafeteria from a fourth-floor atrium, witnesses said. The dead were aged between 46 and 73. Eight others were hurt, including three with gunshot wounds. Alexis was killed in a gun battle with police, officials said.Thomas Hoshko, chief executive of The Experts information technology firm that hired Alexis, said he had worked for the company at six or more US military installations in July and August without any reported problems.“He just recently had a background investigation and drug screen and ... was going back to work at Washington Navy Yard with seven other IT contractors,” Hoshko said.Alexis was arrested on September 4, 2010, in Fort Worth, Texas, on a misdemeanour charge of discharging a firearm, but prosecutors dropped the case.He was also arrested in Seattle in 2004 for shooting out a construction worker’s car tyres in an anger-fuelled “blackout” triggered by perceived “disrespect,” police said. In 2008, he was cited for disorderly conduct in Dekalb County, Georgia, when he was kicked out of a club for damaging furnishings and cursing.