|
| This undated photo provided by Kristi Kinard Suthamtewakul shows Aaron Alexis in Fort Worth, Texas. The FBI has identified Alexis, 34, as the gunman in the Monday, Sept. 16, 2013 shooting rampage at at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington that left thirteen dead, including himself. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- A month before he went on the rampage that left 13 dead,
Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis complained to police in Rhode
Island that people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of
his hotel rooms and sending microwave vibrations into his body to
deprive him of sleep.
The account, contained
in an Aug. 7 report from Newport, R.I., police, adds to the picture that
has emerged of an agitated and erratic figure whose behavior and mental
state had repeatedly come to authorities' attention but didn't seem to
affect his security clearance.
Alexis, a
34-year-old information technology employee at a defense-related
computer company, used a valid pass Monday to get into the Navy Yard and
killed 12 people before he was slain by police in a shootout that
lasted more than a half-hour.
A day after the
assault, the motive was still a mystery. U.S. law enforcement officials
told The Associated Press that investigators had found no manifesto or
other writings suggesting a political or religious motivation.
Alexis,
a former Navy reservist, had been undergoing mental health treatment
from Veterans Affairs since August but was not stripped of his security
clearance, according to the law enforcement officials, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation was still
going on.
He had been suffering a host of
serious mental problems, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, and
had been hearing voices in his head, the officials said.
The
assault is raising more questions about the adequacy of the background
checks done on contract employees who hold security clearances - an
issue that came up recently with National Security Agency leaker Edward
Snowden.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus ordered two
security reviews Tuesday of how well the Navy protects its bases and how
accurately it screens its workers.
Similarly,
President Barack Obama has ordered the White House budget office to
examine security standards for government contractors and employees
across federal agencies.
In addition, the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees asked the VA for details about any treatment provided to Alexis.
At
the U.S. Navy Memorial, in church and on the baseball field, the
nation's capital paused to mourn the victims. Defense Secretary Chuck
Hagel laid a wreath at the memorial's "Lone Sailor" statue as taps
played.
Just a few blocks from the Navy Yard,
the Washington Nationals were back to playing baseball after their
Monday night game with the Atlanta Braves was postponed because of the
shooting. The Nationals wore blue and gold Navy caps during warm-ups,
and a moment of silence was held before the first pitch.
Those
killed included: Michael Arnold, 59, a Navy veteran and avid pilot who
was building a light airplane at home; Sylvia Frasier, 53, who worked in
computer security; Frank Kohler, 50, a former Rotary Club president in
Lexington Park, Md., who proudly reigned as "King Oyster" at the annual
seafood festival; and marine engineer and naval architect Vishnu Pandit,
61, an Indian immigrant.
In the Newport,
R.I., incident, Alexis told police he got into an argument with someone
as he was getting on a flight from Virginia to Rhode Island, where he
was working as a naval contractor, and he said the person sent three
people to follow and harass him.
He said he
heard voices talking to him through a wall while at one hotel, so he
changed hotels twice, but the voices followed him, according to the
report. He said he feared they might harm him.
He
also "stated that the individuals are using `some sort of microwave
machine' to send vibrations through the ceiling, penetrating his body so
he cannot fall asleep."
Later that day,
Newport police alerted the Rhode Island naval station and sent a copy of
the police report, Newport police Lt. William Fitzgerald said Thursday.
A spokeswoman for the station had no comment Tuesday.
Alexis
came to the Washington area about two weeks later and had been staying
at hotels. On Saturday, two days before the attack, he went to a
Virginia gun store about 15 miles from the Navy Yard.
He
rented a rifle, bought bullets and took target practice at
Sharpshooters Small Arms Range, the store's attorney Michael Slocum
said. Alexis then bought a shotgun and 24 shells, according to Slocum.
The FBI said during Monday's attack Alexis was armed with a shotgun. Officials said he also took a handgun from a law officer.
Alexis
had run-ins with the law in 2004 and 2010 in Texas and Seattle after he
was accused of firing a gun in anger. He was not prosecuted in either
case.
And his bouts of insubordination,
disorderly conduct and being absent from work without authorization
prompted the Navy to grant him an early - but honorable - discharge in
2011 after nearly four years as a full-time reservist, authorities said.
Alexis
joined the Florida-based IT consulting firm The Experts in September
2012, leaving a few months later to return to school. He came back in
June to do part-time work at the Washington Navy Yard as a
subcontractor, helping the military update computer systems.
The
Experts' CEO, Thomas Hoshko, said that Alexis had "no personal issues,"
and he confirmed that Alexis had been granted a "secret" clearance by
the Defense Security Service five years ago.
Alexis'
clearance - lower than "top secret" - doesn't need to be renewed for 10
years. Still, the company said it hired outside vendors twice to check
Alexis' criminal history.
Alexis' background check "came back clear," Hoshko said.
