At Least 12 dead at Washington Navy Yard

At least 12 people are dead and others were wounded after as many as three shooters dressed in military style uniforms opened fire in a rampage at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, police said, spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities tried to contain the incident.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier announced the mounting death toll in a 2 p.m. news conference. One suspected shooter is dead, and Lanier said authorities still are looking for two other potential suspects wearing green and tan military style clothing.

About 16,000 military and civilian employees work in the complex’s 2.2 million square feet of offices.

“The big concern for us right now is that we have potentially two other shooters that we have not located at this point,” Lanier said.

Mayor Vincent C. Gray said no motive is known. He said they have no reason to believe it was an act of terrorism, though he said he could not rule it out....

Lanier described one of the possible suspects as a white male in his 40s, wearing what appeared to be tan military clothing, “consistent with a Navy uniform,” and a beret. She said police also are looking for a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns, wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform.

“We have multiple pieces of information that would suggest” that the two suspects are armed. “We have reason to believe that they are involved in some way.”

Police are asking anyone with information on these two people to call 202-727-9099.

Two law enforcement officials said the shooter is among the 12 dead. The dead shooter had an assault rifle and a handgun, two law enforcement officials said. One said he also had a shotgun.

The officials said police are working under the theory that there may be additional shooters because of witness accounts and surveillance video among other information. One of those officials also said all the weapons were not accounted for....

Al-Qaida's leader on Friday marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by calling on Muslims to strike inside the United States, with big attacks or small, using any opportunity they can to "bleed" America financially.

In an audio message released two days after the 12th anniversary of the attacks, Ayman al-Zawahri said America is not a "mythic power" and that the mujahedeen — Islamic holy warriors — can defeat it with attacks "on its own soil."

Al-Zawahri, the successor to Osama bin Laden, used the anniversary to argue that the United States can be defeated by targeting its economy. At the same time, he also addressed the ongoing upheaval in the Arab world. Pointing to a power struggle going on within the rebellion against Syria's regime, he warned jihadi fighters in that country's civil war not "compromise" with more secular or moderate rebel factions, who he said would eventually turn against the al-Qaida-linked radicals....

Terrie Durham and Todd Brundidge, both executive assistants in Building 197, said they were shuffling people out of the exit on their floor when the shooter walked into the hall and started firing.

“I could see his face,” Ms Durham said. “He looked around and fired. We were lucky he was a bad shot.”

Mr. Brundidge said the hallway between the shooter and himself was about 30 yards.

He could see the shooter was a man dressed in what appeared to be blue clothing. He said he could not tell if it was a uniform.

Asked whether the gunman said anything, Ms. Durham said “not a word. He raised the gun and started firing....

The Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis played violent video games including Call of Duty for up to 16 hours at a time and friends believe it could have pushed him towards becoming a mass murderer....

...A U.S. law enforcement official said Monday that gunman Aaron Alexis unleashed a barrage of bullets using an AR-15, a rifle and a semi-automatic handgun. Authorities believed the AR-15 was used for most of the shooting, the official said. The news prompted Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of the strongest proponents of a ban on assault weapons like the AR-15, to issue a statement the same day asking, "When will enough be enough?"

However, federal law enforcement sources told CNN Tuesday that authorities have recovered three weapons from the scene of the mass shooting, including one -- a shotgun -- that investigators believe Alexis brought in to the compound. The other two weapons, which sources say were handguns, may have been taken from guards at the Navy complex.

The sources, who have detailed knowledge of the investigation, cautioned that initial information that an AR-15 was used in the shootings may have been incorrect. It is believed that Alexis had rented an AR-15, but returned it before Monday morning's shootings. Authorities are still investigating precisely how many weapons Alexis had access to and when....

Navy Yard Shooting: SWAT Team Ordered to ‘Stand Down’

Elite tactical team responsible for defending DC Capitol complex were reportedly ordered to leave the scene

Julie Wilson
Infowars.com
September 18, 2013

According to a BBC report, one of the most heavily armed police teams, assigned with the task of protecting the Capitol complex and responsible for responding to threats of terrorism, was ordered to stand down in response to Monday’s shooting at the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building in D.C.


The Containment and Emergency Response Team (CERT), is highly trained and equipped with the best gear on the market. The team consists of four men and is responsible for safeguarding the Capitol complex.

The specialty unit is the department’s elite tactical team assigned with the task of “dealing with the rise in terrorist actives being directed at the US and its citizens,” according to the SpecWarNet.net.

“Since there won’t be time to call for assistance in the event a terrorist is ever able to execute an attack against the Capitol, their [CERT] primary mission consists of rescuing Congressional members, their staff, and visitors who have been taken hostage by terrorists.”

“Secondary missions include, countering threats made against dignitaries, responding to critical incidents and providing security for major events, such as the Presidential Inauguration,” says the website.

Reports confirm that although the team arrived on the scene shortly after news spread of an active shooter situation at the Navy Yard, several Capitol Police team members say they were told by a watch commander to leave the scene.

The sources spoke anonymously to BBC in fear of repercussions.

The leader of the officers’ union, Jim Konczos, said the whole purpose of the CERT team is to respond to and handle active shooter situations. The officers, who are specifically trained to be expert marksmen, arrived fully dressed in their tactical gear and armed with HK-416 assault weapons around 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.

BBC’s report reveals that an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told the CERT team they were the “only police on the site equipped with long guns and requested their help stopping the gunman.”

However, shortly after the CERT team arrived, they were reportedly told to leave.

“I don’t think it’s a far stretch to say that some lives may have been saved if we were allowed to intervene,” said one Capitol Police source.

“Odds are it might have had a different outcome,” said Konczos. “It probably could have been neutralized.”

One Capitol Police officer who supposedly overheard the request for CERT to stand down felt frustrated by the command.

Spokeswoman for the MPD responded to the allegations saying they were “not true.” The Capitol Police announced Wednesday they are investigating the allegations and plan to pull radio logs from Monday’s incident.

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terry Gainer, overseer of the US Capitol Police Department, had the following response: “It’s a very serious allegation and inference to indicate that we were on scene and could have helped and were told to leave. It crushes me if that’s the case.”

The shooting left 13 people dead, including the suspect, Aaron Alexis.

Alexis, 34, was employed by a defense contractor for the Navy and had been issued a “secret” clearance and a common access card (CAC) that enabled him to get into the building.

Officials say they are reexamining the measures used to decide who can be granted such clearances. According to the Washington Post, 4.9 million federal government workers and contractors held such clearances last year.

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has ordered the Pentagon to “…conduct a wide-ranging review of the physical security at all US defense installations across the world and of the security clearance process,” reported the BBC.

This article was posted: Thursday, September 19, 2013 at 5:36 am

Members of a Washington DC Swat team who the BBC has learned were ordered not to respond to Monday's Navy Yard shootings have yet to be contacted by the authorities.

The Capitol Police tactical response team was told by a supervisor to leave the scene instead of aiding municipal officers, sources told the BBC.

Meanwhile, the department has installed a new leader of the elite unit. No reason has been given for the decision.

Gunman Aaron Alexis killed 12 people.

The BBC has also learned that four members of the highly trained team have applied for temporary leave, as they "grapple" with the aftermath of the incident.

The Capitol Police department has not yet granted the request, nor given approval for them to use their own paid time off.

Days after the shooting, none of the officers has been questioned by officials or investigators from a special panel that was convened on Wednesday.

Members of the Containment and Emergency Response Team (Cert) are typically debriefed "right away, at the very least the following day" after an incident, a Capitol Police source said.

"[They] haven't even been given the courtesy of a debrief… They have not even been given an answer as to why the decision was made that they should not respond," the source added.

Another Capitol Police source close to the incident told the BBC: "No-one's talked to these officers since this happened."

On Thursday, members of the tactical unit, which has several dozen members, were told that it had a new leader, a Capitol Police source said. It is not clear why the command shake-up occurred.

Four Cert team members wearing full tactical gear and armed with HK-416 assault weapons arrived on scene at Navy Yard at 08:36 (12:36 GMT) on Monday, after reports surfaced of an active gunman at the complex at 08:20.

According to sources, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Washington DC's main municipal force, told the Capitol Cert officers they were the only police on site equipped with long guns, and requested their help stopping the gunman.

When the Capitol Police team radioed their superiors, they were told by a watch commander to leave the scene, the BBC was told.

On Thursday, FBI Director James B Comey Jr told ABC News it took roughly half an hour for armed police to arrive and engage Alexis. All 12 victims were killed within that time.

Capitol Police sources suggest "lives may have been saved" if the Cert team had been allowed to intervene.

On Wednesday, Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine appointed a "Fact Review Team" to investigate the department's response to the Navy Yard shootings. It will report back on 21 October.

But on Thursday sources questioned the efficacy of such a panel.

They said Capitol Police officers had more confidence in the results of an independent FBI investigation which aims to uncover the facts surrounding the incident.

One officer close to the situation called the lack of communication from department leadership "unforgivable"....

The Washington Navy Yard shooter lied about a previous arrest and failed to disclose thousands of dollars in debts when he applied for a security clearance in the Navy.

Then federal investigators dismissed the omissions, and made one of their own — deleting any reference to Aaron Alexis’ use of a gun in that arrest.

The gaps in his record eventually allowed him to work in the secure Navy building where he gunned down 12 workers last week, underscoring weaknesses with the clearance process that Navy officials are targeting for change....