Update 2 (9/16 7:41 p.m. PDT):

More on the shooter: Aaron Alexis was reportedly involved in two previous nonlethal shootings, and it seems police followed up on only one of those incidents. It’s possible he was a 9/11 rescuer, and may have been disturbed by that experience, according to the L.A. Times.

Update (9/16 12:36 p.m. PDT): The Associated Press reports that the deceased shooter has been identified as Aaron Alexis. Original post follows below.


At least 12 people were killed in a shooting at a naval facility in Washington, D.C., on Monday morning, and it is not known whether there was more than one gunman, Mayor Vincent Gray said, according to The Guardian.

The Guardian reported that Washington, D.C., police chief Cathy Lanier confirmed the death toll and said one shooter is dead and police are searching for two others in military-style clothing. “We potentially have two shooters out there,” she said.

“We have one shooter that we believe is involved in this who is deceased,” she said.

Schools are closed in the area, and nearby flights, temporarily delayed, have resumed.

This is a developing story. The Guardian initially reported:

“An active shooter was reported inside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building (Bldg. 197) on the Washington Navy Yard at 8.20am (Eastern Time),” the navy said in a release on its website.

The navy said that employees at the scene had been ordered to “shelter in place”. The statement on its website was last updated at 9.42am.

WUSA9, citing DC police, reports that a police officer was among the injured. He was shot twice in the leg, the channel reported, and has been taken to MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

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