Washington Shooter Identified As Aaron Alexis

The shooter responsible for the recent multiple shooting incident resulting in the death of twelve people and himself has been identified as Aaron Alexis.

Aaron Alexis

According to the BBC, Aaron Alexis, 34, from Fort Worth, Texas was a former US Navy serviceman and he died in a gun battle with the Police who reported at the scene of the shooting incident.

President Barack Obama, condemned the “cowardly act” and said he mourned “yet another mass shooting”.

He also ordered flags to be lowered to half mast at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

Eight others were injured in the attack, which began at about 8:20 local time (12:20 GMT) on Monday.

The motive behind the attack is not yet known and may never be known as Police have confirmed that Aaron was acting alone.

Police were initially hunting two other possible suspects but after a thorough search on Monday, Washington Chief of Police, Cathy Lanier said on Monday it was almost certain that Aaron was acting alone.

Witnesses at the scene of the shooting report that he fired shots in a hallway and from a balcony down on to workers in an atrium at the heavily secured Washington Navy Yard.

They also said he had on him an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun, which he had taken from a police officer at the scene.
Police Chief Lanier told newsmen that the attacker “was engaged in shooting with police officers” when he died. “There is no question he would have kept shooting,” she added.

Valerie Parlave of the FBI said that the suspect had a valid pass to enter Washington Navy Yard.

Aaron was formerly a petty officer 3rd class who served full-time in the naval reserve from 2007-11, said the US Navy.
He also received two routine medals for his service in the Navy: the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

It was not immediately clear why he left the military, but unnamed military officers told US media there had been a series of misconduct issues during his service.

According to media reports, Alexis was a Buddhist convert and had had two previous gun-related brushes with the law.