Posted by AzBueMeanie:
Where is Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs when we need him? Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Today's tragic mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard is certain to be an episode of NCIS this season. At least 12 dead in Navy Yard shooting; possible suspect at large:
At least 12 people are dead and others were wounded after a shooter
opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, police said,
spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities tried to
contain the incident.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced the mounting death
toll in a 2 p.m. news conference. The suspected shooter, identified by
three law enforcement officials as Aaron Alexis, a man in his 30s from
Texas, is among the dozen dead.
But hours after the rampage began, it was still unclear whether the
shooting was the act of a lone gunman, or if other shooters were
involved. Lanier initially said authorities were looking for two other
potential shooters dressed in military style clothing. But shortly after
she announced a detailed description of two suspects, city officials
said one had been located and cleared.
Mayor Vincent C. Gray said no motive is known. He said they have no
reason to believe it was an act of terrorism, though he said he could
not rule it out.
Lanier described the other possible suspect, who
has not been located, as a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns,
wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform.
Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to call 202-727-9099.
Officials said police theorize that there may be additional shooters
because of witness accounts and surveillance video among other
information. One of those officials also said all the weapons were not
accounted for.
At least two police officers were among those shot.
Police on the scene said one is a D.C. police officer who was shot
twice in the leg and was evacuated to a hospital. Lanier said he was in
stable condition after engaging the shooter with gunfire. The other was a
base officer. The D.C. officer, a male, was conscious at MedStar
Washington Hospital Center and his chances for survival were good,
hospital officials said.
Janis Orlowski, the chief medical officer
at Washington Hospital Center, said three victims in all were brought
to the center, all in critical condition but alert, responsive and able
to talk with doctors. The victims were also able to speak briefly to law
enforcement officers before undergoing surgery or treatment, she said.
The other two victims at the hospital were female civilians, Orlowski said at a news conference. All are likely to survive.
* * *
The U.S. Navy said that three shots were fired around 8:20 a.m. at Building 197, where about 3,000 people work.
Rick
Mason, a program management analyst who is a civilian with the U.S.
Navy, told the Associated Press that a gunman was shooting from a fourth
floor overlook in the hallway outside his office. He said the gunman
was aiming at people in the building’s first floor cafeteria.
* * *
Two Navy yard employees interviewed on CNN said they were fired on in a hallway by a gunman they described as a tall black man.
A
woman who gave her name as Terry Durham said that as she and co-workers
were evacuating, she saw a man down the hall raise a rifle and fire
toward them, hitting a wall. “He was tall. He appeared to be
dark-skinned,” she said.
“He was a tall black guy,” said her co-worker, Todd Brundage. “He didn’t say a word.”
* * *
Senate buildings on Capitol Hill went on lockdown at about 3 p.m., with no one allowed to enter or leave the building.
The
Nationals, whose ballpark is near the Navy Yard, postponed a Monday
night game. Instead, they will play a double header Tuesday at 1 p.m.
and 7 p.m.
Ten public and charter schools and a public school administration building in the District were placed on lockdown. The schools will follow their regular afternoon dismissal schedule, a school system spokeswoman said.
Several key streets remain closed in the Navy Yard area as the investigation into this morning’s shooting continues.
Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak asks the right question: How can we tolerate another mass shooting?
How can this country tolerate another mass shooting, after we’ve endured
so many others? And why have we allowed ourselves to grow accustomed to
this awful bloodshed? Because that’s what these slaughters have become:
practically routine.* * *
We’ve been here before so many times. And each time we wonder whether
this is the mass shooting that will finally wake us from our numb
sleepwalk.* * *
Mass shootings are becoming as American as apple pie and baseball. And that’s almost as appalling as the mounting casualties.