FBI: Washington Navy Yard Shooter Bought Shotgun in Virginia

By Todd Richissin

Aaron Alexis, the Washington Navy Yard shooter who killed 12 people before being killed himself, bought the weapon he began his shooting rampage with legally in Virginia, the FBI said Tuesday.

At a news conference just blocks from where the shooting spree began Monday morning, Valerie Parlave, the assistant FBI director in charge of the D.C. field office, told reporters that Alexis had been living in a hotel in the days before he arrived in the Washington area, believed to be about Aug. 25.

Parlave said media reports that said Alexis was armed with an AR-15 appear to be incorrect. Alexis entered Building 197 with a legitimate pass, she said, and may have secured a handgun during the chaos of the shooting.

Metropolitan police officers arrived at the scene within two minutes of the initial call, authorities said. Alexis was killed between 30 minutes and an hour later after "multiple engagements," said D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier.

Officials, meanwhile, have completed the task of notifying the families of the dozen people killed in the attacks. The victims of the Navy Yard shooting included at least four people from Virginia.

Metropolitan Police Officer Scott Williams, one of the people injured during the attacks, is doing well and in good spirits, Chief Lanier said. 

Intense focus has been placed on the procedures in place to screen who is entitled to clearance to get into a place like the Navy Yard, which is supposed to be a highly secure workplace for 3,000 people from the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland.

Alexis was granted secret security clearance despite misconduct during his time in the Navy Reserves, possible mental health problems and previous run-ins with the law.