REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON - Law enforcement officials say the defense contractor who fatally shot 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard was carrying three weapons during the rampage. Two federal officials say Aaron Alexis had an AR-15 assault rifle, a shotgun and a handgun that he took from a police officer at the scene. The two officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation.
Alexis got into the Washington Navy Yard and went on a deadly shooting rampage Monday, spraying bullets in the hallways and firing from a balcony on workers in an atrium below. Thirteen people were killed, including the gunman. The FBI took charge of the investigation.
The attack as the deadliest shooting at a US -based military installation since Maj. Nidal Hissan, an Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 30 others in 2009 at Fort Hood in Texas. He was convicted last month and sentenced to death.
The motive for the attack was a mystery, investigators said. Mayor Vincent Gray said there was no indication it was a terrorist attack, but he added that the possibility had not been ruled out.
"This is a horrific tragedy," he said.
The attack at a single building at the highly secured Navy Yard unfolded about 8:20 am in the heart of the US capital, less than four miles (6.4 kilometers) from the White House and two miles (3.2 kilometers) from the Capitol.
The gunman, Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old information technology employee and former Navy reservist whose last known address was in Fort Worth, Texas, died after a running gunbattle inside the building with police, investigators said.
For much of the day, authorities said they were looking for a possible second attacker who may have been disguised in an olive-drab military-style uniform.
But by late Monday night, they said they were convinced the attack was the work of a lone gunman, and the security lockdown around the area was eased.
"We do now feel comfortable that we have the single and sole person responsible for the loss of life inside the base today," Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.
Alexis was born on May 9, 1979. His hometown was New York City and his last residence was Fort Worth, Texas.
He was pursuing a bachelor's degree in aeronautics via online classes at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He converted to Buddhism and was devout, wanting to become an ordained monk, according to friends.
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