The man who killed 12 people at a Washington DC
Navy installation had received treatment for
mental health issues, US media report.
Former US Navy reservist Aaron Alexis, 34, had been
treated for paranoia, hearing voices and sleeplessness,
the Associated Press reported.
The military contractor had a valid pass for Washington
Navy Yard, where the attack unfolded, authorities said.
Alexis was shot and killed by police during Monday's
assault.
Alexis reportedly approached the US Department of
Veterans Affairs in August to seek psychological help.
'Microwave delusion'
It has also emerged that last month he called police
from a hotel in the US state of Rhode Island to say he
kept hearing voices.
According to a Newport police report, he told officers
he believed people were following him and "sending
vibrations into his body".
Alexis said he had twice moved hotels to evade his
pursuers, who he believed were using "some sort of
microwave machine" to stop him from sleeping.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has ordered a
physical security review of all Navy and Marine Corps
installations, a Navy official told the BBC.
On Tuesday, the US capital remained in a state of shock
and mourning.
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel laid a wreath at US
Navy Memorial Plaza in honour of the Navy Yard
victims.
The attack took place on Monday morning at Building
197, headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command,
which builds and maintains ships and submarines for
the Navy.
Witnesses said the gunman sprayed bullets in a hallway
and fired from a balcony down on to workers in an
atrium at the heavily secured installation in the US
capital.
The attack only ended when police stormed the
building and shot him dead.
Alexis was armed with a shotgun legally purchased in
Virginia, as well as one handgun authorities say he may
have taken from a guard inside the naval complex.
Previous reports suggested he had used an AR-15
semiautomatic rifle. But officials said on Tuesday that
although the weapon had been found at the scene, it
was neither carried nor used by the gunman.
In addition to the 12 shot and killed, three people - a
police officer and two female civilians - received
gunshot wounds, but all were expected to survive. Five
others were treated for minor injuries.
'Insubordination'
On Tuesday, authorities said they believed Alexis had
acted alone and that all victims - ranging in age from
46 to 73 - had been identified.
As an employee of an IT contractor, Alexis apparently
had a card granting him access to the building - even
though he had had several run-ins with the law and
had been discharged from the Navy under a cloud,
authorities said.
"It really is hard to believe that someone with a record
as chequered as this man could conceivably get, you
know, clearance... to be able to get on the base,"
Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray told CNN.
Alexis left the Navy as a petty officer 3rd class, after
serving full-time in the naval reserve from 2007-11,
under a general discharge, a status that suggests
misconduct.
He had been cited for insubordination, disorderly
behaviour and excessive absences from work at least
eight times during his Navy career, the Washington Post
reported on Tuesday.
According to media reports, Alexis was a Buddhist
convert who had had previous gun-related brushes
with the law.
On Tuesday, his employer, an IT contractor called The
Experts, said the military should have made his record
known.
"Anything that suggests criminal problems or mental
health issues, that would be a flag. We would not have
hired him," Thomas Hoshko, chief executive officer of
firm, told the Washington Post.
The company confirmed Alexis had worked since July
at six different military installations and had only been
at the Navy Yard for a few days before the shooting.
Navy installation had received treatment for
mental health issues, US media report.
Former US Navy reservist Aaron Alexis, 34, had been
treated for paranoia, hearing voices and sleeplessness,
the Associated Press reported.
The military contractor had a valid pass for Washington
Navy Yard, where the attack unfolded, authorities said.
Alexis was shot and killed by police during Monday's
assault.
Alexis reportedly approached the US Department of
Veterans Affairs in August to seek psychological help.
'Microwave delusion'
It has also emerged that last month he called police
from a hotel in the US state of Rhode Island to say he
kept hearing voices.
According to a Newport police report, he told officers
he believed people were following him and "sending
vibrations into his body".
Alexis said he had twice moved hotels to evade his
pursuers, who he believed were using "some sort of
microwave machine" to stop him from sleeping.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has ordered a
physical security review of all Navy and Marine Corps
installations, a Navy official told the BBC.
On Tuesday, the US capital remained in a state of shock
and mourning.
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel laid a wreath at US
Navy Memorial Plaza in honour of the Navy Yard
victims.
The attack took place on Monday morning at Building
197, headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command,
which builds and maintains ships and submarines for
the Navy.
Witnesses said the gunman sprayed bullets in a hallway
and fired from a balcony down on to workers in an
atrium at the heavily secured installation in the US
capital.
The attack only ended when police stormed the
building and shot him dead.
Alexis was armed with a shotgun legally purchased in
Virginia, as well as one handgun authorities say he may
have taken from a guard inside the naval complex.
Previous reports suggested he had used an AR-15
semiautomatic rifle. But officials said on Tuesday that
although the weapon had been found at the scene, it
was neither carried nor used by the gunman.
In addition to the 12 shot and killed, three people - a
police officer and two female civilians - received
gunshot wounds, but all were expected to survive. Five
others were treated for minor injuries.
'Insubordination'
On Tuesday, authorities said they believed Alexis had
acted alone and that all victims - ranging in age from
46 to 73 - had been identified.
As an employee of an IT contractor, Alexis apparently
had a card granting him access to the building - even
though he had had several run-ins with the law and
had been discharged from the Navy under a cloud,
authorities said.
"It really is hard to believe that someone with a record
as chequered as this man could conceivably get, you
know, clearance... to be able to get on the base,"
Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray told CNN.
Alexis left the Navy as a petty officer 3rd class, after
serving full-time in the naval reserve from 2007-11,
under a general discharge, a status that suggests
misconduct.
He had been cited for insubordination, disorderly
behaviour and excessive absences from work at least
eight times during his Navy career, the Washington Post
reported on Tuesday.
According to media reports, Alexis was a Buddhist
convert who had had previous gun-related brushes
with the law.
On Tuesday, his employer, an IT contractor called The
Experts, said the military should have made his record
known.
"Anything that suggests criminal problems or mental
health issues, that would be a flag. We would not have
hired him," Thomas Hoshko, chief executive officer of
firm, told the Washington Post.
The company confirmed Alexis had worked since July
at six different military installations and had only been
at the Navy Yard for a few days before the shooting.
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