Gunman among those gunned down in US shooting rampage

In the deadliest mass shooting in the US since last December’s massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, a gunman killed 12 people and wounded 14 others at a US naval base in the heart of the capital before being shot dead. 

The FBI identified the alleged shooter at the sprawling Washington Navy Yard complex in Southeast Washington not too far from the Capitol and the White House, as Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas.

Alexis who received a general discharge in 2011 from the Navy Reserve, was arrested but not charged in a gun incident in Seattle in back 2004 but still had a security clearance with a military contractor that would have allowed him access to the Navy Yard, officials said.

Even as the FBI ruled out any other shooters in the rampage at the headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command, Metropolitan Police were trying to track down at least one person to determine whether that individual had any involvement.

‘We’ll continue to seek information about what the motive is. We don’t have any reason at this stage to suspect terrorism. but certainly it has not been ruled out,’ Washington Mayor Vincent Gray told reporters. The other possible suspect was described by police as a black male, between 40 and 50, wearing an ‘olive drab-coloured’ shirt.

Meanwhile, the gunman has been described as a young man with an interest in Buddhism and flashes of rage. Officials on Tuesday said he had serious mental issues as well. Aaron Alexis’ motive remained a mystery.

But US law enforcement officials told Associated Press he had paranoia and a sleep disorder and was hearing voices in his head. The officials also said there has been no connection to international or domestic terrorism, and investigators have found no manifesto or other writings suggesting a political or religious motivation.

Family members told investigators that Alexis, 34, was being treated for his mental issues. He had been treated since August by the federal Veterans Administration, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation was continuing.