Thirteen people dead after shooting at DC Navy Yard

WASHINGTON, DC (NEWS1130) – Thirteen people have been confirmed dead, with eight other injured, after a shooting at a Navy building in Washington, DC.

A suspect believed to be the gunman was killed after the massacre at the Navy Yard. Police say the 12 other people killed in the attack were all civilian contractors and were between the ages of 46 and 73 years old.

The Navy has identified the suspect as 34-year-old Aaron Alexis. It says he was a full-time reservist from 2007 to 2011.

The Navy said in a release that Alexis left the Navy on Jan. 31, 2011, as a petty officer 3rd class. It’s not immediately clear why he left.

Alexis had been working for the fleet logistics support squadron No. 46, in Fort Worth, Texas. The Navy says his home of record was New York City. Police say he used a valid pass to get onto the base.

Seattle Police records also indicate Alexis was arrested there in 2004 for shooting out the tires of a car.

Documents show Alexis admitted to police he had intended to blow out the tires because he thought the owner of the car had mocked him earlier in the day. Alexis told investigators he had an anger-fueled blackout and couldn’t remember firing the gun.

According to reports, the case was referred to Seattle Municipal Court for charges but was later dismissed.

Police and emergency crews gathered Monday morning outside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building, where the shooting was reported.

The Navy says about 3,000 people work in the building.

Workers at the Washington Navy Yard in the U-S capital who escaped a shooting rampage by a former reservist are telling amazing stories of survival.

Cpt. Mark Vandroff says bullets flew right by him. “We looked up and there were two bullet holes in the top of the wall of the conference room.”

He says he and his colleagues stayed on the floor until rescuers arrived.

Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the Navy’s five system commands and accounts for a quarter of the Navy’s entire budget.

It builds, buys and maintains the Navy’s ships and submarines and their combat systems.

Police from multiple local and federal agencies were responding along with SWAT crews.

Obama calls victims patriots

President Barack Obama is mourning what he called “yet another mass shooting” in the United States that he says took the life of American patriots.

Obama promised to make sure, “whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.”

He said the victims were “courageous Americans” who were just going to work today, like anyone else. “They know the dangers of serving abroad. But today, they faced the unimaginable violence that they wouldn’t have expected here at home.”

As for those who are investigating the rampage and treating the injured, Obama says,”We offer our gratitude to the Navy and local law enforcement, federal authorities, and the doctors who have reponded with skill and bravery.”