http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/17/us-usa-navy-shooting-idUSBRE98F0DN20130917
( WTF - The US Navy was warned by Rhode Island police that Aaron Alexis was hearing voices - and din't yank his security clearances or access passes ? )
(Reuters) - Rhode Island police warned the U.S. Navy last month that Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis had reported "hearing voices," raising further questions about how he gained security clearance at the complex where he went on a shooting rampage.
Officials say Alexis, a Navy contractor and former Navy reservist, opened fire at the Naval Sea Systems Command on Monday, killing 12 people before police shot him dead.
The shooting - a mile and a half from the U.S. Capitol and three miles from the White House - sent shockwaves through Washington.
The Pentagon said it would review security at military installations around the world and the White House promised to review standards for federal government contractors.
A Defense Department Inspector General's report published on Tuesday revealed security lapses that allowed 52 convicted felons to gain access to Navy facilities because budget cuts had undermined vetting.
Meanwhile, the U.S. capital paused to remember the victims, aged 46 to 73, who included retirees, parents and a bird lover.
Police in Newport, Rhode Island, were so concerned about Alexis' behavior on a business trip there in August that they alerted Navy police.
Alexis told police he believed people were following him and "sending vibrations into his body," according to a Newport police report.
He told police that he had twice moved hotels to avoid the noise he heard coming through the floor and the ceiling of his rooms, and that the people following him were using "some sort of microwave machine" to prevent him from sleeping.
"Based on the naval base implications and the claim that the involved subject, one (Aaron Alexis) was 'hearing voices,' I made contact with the on-duty Naval Station police," a Newport police officer wrote, adding that he faxed his report of the incident to Navy police.
The Newport police report said Navy police had promised to check if Alexis was in fact a naval base contractor.
Asked for comment, a spokesman said the Navy was looking into the matter, without confirming any details.
In addition, CNN reported that Alexis had contacted two Veterans Administration hospitals recently and was believed to be seeking psychological help.
"Initial reports indicate that this is an individual who may have had some mental health problems," U.S. President Barack Obama told Spanish-language network Telemundo.
"The fact that we do not have a firm enough background check system is something that makes us more vulnerable to these kinds of mass shootings." [ID:nL2N0HD27Y]
The Navy gave Alexis an honorable discharge despite a series of eight to 10 misconduct charges, ranging from traffic offenses to disorderly conduct.
SECURITY CLEARANCE
Using a valid pass as an information technology contractor with a private company, Alexis entered the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters with a shotgun - bought legally in Virginia - and gained access to a handgun after he started firing, officials said.
He started picking off victims in a cafeteria from a fourth-floor atrium, witnesses said. Eight people were hurt, three with gunshot wounds, before Alexis was killed in a gun battle with police.
A U.S. defense official said a National Agency Check, a type of background check, was completed on Alexis in August 2007 and he was determined eligible to handle "secret" material in March 2008. Such clearances are valid for 10 years, meaning Alexis had no need to renew his.
Alexis' employer said it had enlisted a service to make what appeared to be two standard, employment background checks on him over the past year, finding only a traffic violation while twice confirming his "secret"-level security clearance with the U.S. Defense Department.
"The latest background check and security clearance confirmation were in late June of 2013 and revealed no issues other than one minor traffic violation," The Experts, an information technology company, said in a statement.
Alexis was arrested on September 4, 2010, in Fort Worth, Texas, on a misdemeanor charge of discharging a firearm. He was also arrested in Seattle in 2004 for shooting out a constructionworker's car tires in an anger-fueled "blackout" triggered by perceived "disrespect," police said. In 2008, he was cited for disorderly conduct in DeKalb County, Georgia, when he was kicked out of a club for damaging furnishings and cursing.
In each case, the charges were dropped.
People who knew Alexis said they were shocked by the shooting, describing him as a lover of Thai culture who worshipped at a Buddhist temple in Texas, although one acquaintance told reporters he had an unnatural affection for violent video games.
The Navy Yard was closed to all but essential personnel on Tuesday. Military police were stationed at the four entrances, checking the identifications of the employees who were being allowed back in. Other personnel milled around outside, hoping to retrieve cars that remained locked inside the gates.
"I've never ever felt unsafe at this place," said David Berlin, a civilian who works at the Navy Yard as an assistant program manager building weapons systems. "If someone wants to skirt the rules, they can do that, but you trust your colleagues."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-17/here-it-comes-obama-calls-gun-control-again-aftermath-shipyard-shootings
( The fact that a shotgun was the shooter's weapon initially deployed against security , doesn't stop the cry to ban assault weapons one day later... )
Here It Comes: Obama Calls For Gun Control, Again, In Aftermath Of Shipyard Shootings
The bodies of the casualties from yesterday's latest mass shooting incident have not been buried yet, but already the president, fresh from his embarrassing foreign relations defeat with Russia and not to mention the ongoing NSA snafu, is back in 'distract em with a campaign-cum-crusade mode' after calling, once again, for Congress to pass gun control legislation this time in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
One can only assume the president was himself too distracted by all his recent scandals and/or was just spying too hard on the American people to recall that it was only in April that the Democratically-controlled Senate killed an amendment to a Democratic gun control bill, which was the first and biggest slap in the face of the freshly re-elected president so far in 2013 (little did we know it was only downhill from there), and made a mockery of Obama's crusade to enact gun control.
Either way, for whatever reason, here's Obama:
President Obama called on Congress on Tuesday to revisit gun control legislation, saying in the wake of Monday's deadly mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard that lawmakers should take what he considers "basic actions" to toughen the nation's gun laws.In an interview with the Spanish-language television network Telemundo, Obama said the country's background check system for gun buyers is so weak it makes the United States vulnerable to mass shootings, such as the one last December that killed 26 small children at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn."You know, I do get concerned that this becomes a ritual that we go through every three, four months, where we have these horrific mass shootings," Obama said in the interview. "Everybody expresses understandable horror. We all embrace the families — and obviously our thoughts and prayers are with those families right now as they're absorbing this incredible loss. And yet we're not willing to take some basic actions."The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting propelled gun safety to the top of Obama's second-term legislative agenda, but Senate Republicans as well as some Democrats in April blocked a proposal to expand background checks."You have a majority of the American people and even a large percentage of Republicans who are ready to move the country forward, and yet we keep on getting blocked," Obama said. "It's a challenge that I'm speaking out on, but ultimately we're also gonna meet pressure from the public to see if we can change how they do business up there."
He also said a bunch of other things - the full recap can be found here.
Of course, when this latest initiative of an openly flailing administration crashes and burns, there will be yet another Syria false flag event to redirect, just as there was in the spring when Obama's first attempt at getting the Senate to pass a Democratic proposal, failed, which needless to say also ended up in flames.
Assault weapons, poor base security, untreated mental illness: No easy scapegoats yet in Navy Yard shooting
POSTED AT 11:21 AM ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 BY ALLAHPUNDIT
Usually after a horrendous shooting, the conventional wisdom on what’s “really” to blame has congealed 24 hours later. Not this time. Alexis didn’t use an “assault weapon,” as you already know if you read Ed’s post. He used a shotgun, the weapon of choice of the vice president of the United States. He was, apparently, seriously mentally ill — paranoia, sleep disorder, hearing voices — but had been treated since at least last month and hadn’t (yet?) had his Navy security clearance revoked on grounds of mental unfitness. Time magazine published a mini-bombshell last night about a Pentagon IG report that accused the Navy Yard of cutting corners on screening contractors who might pose a security risk (52 convicted felons received routine access), but as far as I know Alexis has never been convicted of a felony. On the contrary, his boss told Reuters that Alexis passed a background check in July after the firm re-hired him and that he had a “secret clearance” and a common access card for the Navy Yard. Presumably that explains how he got into the otherwise highly secure Naval Sea Systems Command building, which houses lots of classified information. Simply put, he had a right to be there.
Here’s the closest thing I’ve seen to an obvious red flag, but even this has problems:
The former Navy reservist identified by authorities as the gunman in the massacre at the Washington Navy Yard was cited at least eight times during his Navy career for misconduct, officials said Tuesday, including insubordination, disorderly conduct and multiple excessive absences from work.The Navy also gave Aaron Alexis, 34, an administrative sanction after he was arrested by civilian authorities in DeKalb County, Ga., in 2008 and held for two nights in jail, a Navy official said…The Navy on Tuesday corrected its initial account of the circumstances under which Alexis left the service. He received an honorable discharge, effective Jan. 31, 2011, a Navy official said. On Monday, the Navy mistakenly said that Alexis had received a general discharge, a less-desirable category that would have indicated to future employers that there was something amiss with his performance.The official clarified that the service had originally sought to kick out Alexis with a general discharge because of his pattern of misconduct while in uniform, in addition to his arrest by Texas authorities in 2010 for shooting a gun into his neighbor’s apartment. But those proceedings were moving slowly, and it was unclear whether the Navy had sufficient cause to approve a general discharge, the official said.
They knew he was trouble, but not so much trouble that they were prepared to discharge him dishonorably and not even so much that they’d refuse him an honorable discharge on principle. Hard to tell given the paucity of detail here, but it sounds like the misconduct itself in each case was minor; it was the accumulation of incidents, perhaps, not the alarms raised by the severity of any one of them, that forced him out.
As for his motive, to the extent that someone who’s been hearing voices might have a coherent motive, the feds haven’t found one yet. The usual suspicions when a military base is attacked don’t seem to apply: As noted last night, this guy was apparently a fairly devout Buddhist, not a homegrown jihadi like Nidal Hasan, and his best friend and roommate says he doesn’t know of any grudge Alexis might have had against the government. The closest thing to a grievance that the roommate’s aware of was Alexis grumbling a bit after he got back from an assignment from his employer in Japan because he felt he hadn’t been paid the right amount. In fact, the roommate’s leading theory of what drove him over the edge was, uh, violent video games, the default scapegoat when all others have failed. So look forward to an especially stupid debate about that in select media outlets this week.
The best the feds seem able to do right now on motive comes from NBC:
After having been discharged from the Navy, Alexis served as a naval reservist and had been working as a civilian contractor for a division of Hewlett-Packard that was upgrading equipment used on the Navy/Marine Corps intranet, the company confirmed Monday. Investigators said he may have recently lost that job, giving him a grudge to nurse.Under a new support contract, all HP hardware at the Navy Yard was relocated to Denver last month — leaving few if any support jobs needed in Washington. It wasn’t known whether Alexis’ job was one that was moved to Colorado — and if so, whether he declined to move or was let go as part of the reorganization. HP wouldn’t say Monday whether Alexis was still on its payroll.
Interesting, but that completely contradicts what Alexis’s boss told Reuters. He said that the HP division had just re-hired Alexis in July after he had left the firm in January following the Japan job, and it sounds like he was indeed assigned to work the Navy Yard, not Colorado. Which leaves us stuck at square one.
Exit question: According to NBC, “a shotgun used in the shootings was bought at a Virginia gun store within the last few weeks.” Alexis, as noted above, was being treated for severe mental illness since last month, at least. How was a guy in that condition nonetheless able to purchase a shotgun? Like Jonah Goldberg says, gun-control fans would have an easier time of it if they focused on dangerous gun owners rather than “dangerous guns.”
Update: WaPo updates with more detail on Alexis’s military misconduct: “Aaron Alexis was cited at least eight times for misconduct for offenses as minor as a traffic ticket and showing up late for work but also as serious as insubordination and disorderly conduct, according to a Navy official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the gunman’s personnel record.” He received administrative punishments three times, but not a single court-martial.
How or why was this guy allowed to maintain a secret clearance ?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. law enforcement officials are telling The Associated Press that the Navy contractor identified as the gunman in the mass shootings at the Washington Navy Yard had been suffering a host of serious mental issues, including paranoia and a sleep disorder. He also had been hearing voices in his head, the officials said.
Aaron Alexis, 34, had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation in the case was continuing. The Navy had not declared him mentally unfit, which would have rescinded a security clearance that Alexis had from his earlier time in the Navy Reserves.
Family members told investigators that Alexis was being treated for his mental issues.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/suspected-u-shooter-had-secret-clearance-employer-says-010927653.html
( How did this guy get a secret level clearance - with the shooting incidents , with being kicked out of Navy Reserves - due to the latter shooting incident ? And this happened on his first day of work there- at the Naval sea Systems Command Facility ? How comes he seemed very familiar with said facility , if he just started to work there ? If he had a military issued ID and a CAC , why would he steal some other guy's ID ( the one that was on his person ? Did he know the guy whose ID he obtained - and how as he was new to town ? )
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aaron Alexis, the 34-year-old suspect in Monday's shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard, had "secret" clearance and was assigned to start working there as a civilian contractor with a military-issued ID card, his firm's CEO told Reuters.
"He did have a secret clearance. And he did have a CAC (common access card)," said Thomas Hoshko, CEO of "The Experts," which was helping service the Navy, Marine Corps intranet as a subcontractor for a Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services contract.
Asked when he was supposed to start work, Hoshko said in a telephone interview: "That's what I got to find out, if he was supposed to start today ... It's not clear to me."
and highlighting interesting tidbits..... how did he get the " Experts " Gig out of the blue ? Just hired three weeks ago and immediately left for DC ? So fast he couldn't even sell his furniture ?
and highlighting interesting tidbits..... how did he get the " Experts " Gig out of the blue ? Just hired three weeks ago and immediately left for DC ? So fast he couldn't even sell his furniture ?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/navy-yard-shooting-suspect_n_3936876.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
WASHINGTON -- Aaron Alexis, the suspect in the shooting deaths of at least 12 individuals at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning, was a relative recluse in the Internet age.
The 34-year-old left a scant social media footprint, though that could have been by design. Facebook does not appear to have an account for him, nor does Twitter or YouTube. Alexis' LinkedIn page was erased sometime before the shooting, leaving probing reporters with just a limited glance at the background of someone believed to be behind the worst loss of life within D.C. since 1982.
Alexis, who was fingered by the FBI on Monday as the shooter and died during the incident, lived for a period of time in Fort Worth, Texas. He resided at The Orion at Oak Hill apartments, a gated community, until December 2010. Neighbors there were hard to reach on early Monday afternoon. According to the Star Telegram, he moved from there to 7940 White Settlement Road, but his landlord Somsak Srisan said he had not been living at the latter location "for six to eight months."
“Oh boy, I can’t believe this,” Srisan told the paper. “He was always very polite to me.”
“I can’t believe he would do anything like this,” Srisan said. “He always behaved well around me.”
There were some hints that Alexis had a bit of a violent streak. A mugshot of him was among the first images to surface, taken as a result of a 2010 brush with the law over discharging a firearm.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that following that incident, Alexis was kicked out of the U.S. Navy, in which he had served since 2007.
On Sept. 4, 2010, Alexis was charged in connection with a shooting at his apartment complex on Oak Hill Circle. According to Fort Worth police records, a resident reported that Alexis, who lived below, had shot at her through the floor.
"She told that she was sitting in a chair when she heard the loud pop and saw the dust," the police report states. "She then saw that their [sic] was a hole in her floor just a couple of feet from where she was sitting while shredding papers and a hole in the ceiling. She told me that she believed someone had shot a bullet through her apt."
Alexis told the police, according to their report, that he was cleaning his gun when it just went off. "He said that he was trying to clean his gun while cooking and that his hands were slippery," the report states. He told the responding officer that he was taking the gun apart when his hands slipped and he pulled the trigger.
"He didn't think [the bullet] went all the way through since he couldn't see any light through the hole," the report states. "In regards to the noise he said he thought that people would just think it was a firecracker. I then asked why he wouldn't answer the door when I knocked and he said that he thought it was just his upstairs neighbor and he didn't want to talk to her because she is always making noise. While inside the apt I looked at the gun which was taken apart at this time. A gun cleaning kit was located next to the gun and the gun was covered in oil."
The neighbor said that Alexis had called the police to complain about her making noise several times. She added that several days earlier he had complained to her about the noise in the building's parking lot. The resident told police that she was "terrified of Aaron and feels that this was done intentionally."
Alexis was arrested but, according to the Tarrant County Criminal Courts administrator's office, no court case was filed.
Six years earlier, he had been arrested on a gun charge following an incident in Seattle. On May 6, 2004, two construction workers had parked their 1986 Honda Accord adjacent to a home where Alexis was staying.
"The victims reported seeing a man, later identified by police as Alexis, walk out of the home next to their worksite, pull a gun from his waistband and fire three shots into the two rear tires of their Honda before he walked slowly back to his home north of the construction site," according to SPD Blotter, a site maintained by the Seattle Police Department.
When police arrived on the scene, they could not locate Alexis. But SPD Blotter reports that construction workers told police that Alexis "had 'stared' at construction workers at the job site every day over the last month prior to the shooting. The owner of the construction business told police he believed Alexis was angry over the parking situation around the work site."
On June 3, Seattle cops arrested Alexis. During a search of his home, officers found a gun and ammunition. Alexis told police that he had been "mocked" by the construction crew and that the crew had "disrespected him."
"Alexis also claimed he had an anger-fueled 'blackout,' and could not remember firing his gun at the victims' vehicle until an hour after the incident," SPD Blotter reports.
Alexis also told police he was present during "the tragic events of September 11, 2001" and described “how those events had disturbed him.”
Detectives later spoke with Alexis’ father, who lived in New York at the time, who told police Alexis had anger management problems associated with PTSD, and that Alexis had been an active participant in rescue attempts on September 11th, 2001.Detectives referred the case to the Seattle Municipal Court for charges.
****
Alexis may have come to Washington to work for a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor. A Hewlett-Packard spokesperson confirmed his employment with the company in a statement released to HuffPost.
"Aaron Alexis was an employee of a company called 'The Experts,' a subcontractor to an HP Enterprise Services contract to refresh equipment used on the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) network. HP is cooperating fully with law enforcement as requested," the statement says.
The spokesperson said Hewlett-Packard was "deeply saddened by today’s tragic events. ... Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who have been affected."
According to Alexis' LinkedIn page, he had studied at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. A school official said that the school would get back to The Huffington Post with possible confirmation.
At some point in his life, Alexis had also worked as a "network tech" at a company called "SinglePoint," according to his LinkedIn page. But he didn't specify which SinglePoint that was. The Huffington Post called five companies with that name or a variation of it. None said they had any record of employing a man named Aaron Alexis.
Earlier this year, Alexis had a job at a Thai restaurant in the Fort Worth area, where he waited occasionally on employees of the Star Telegram. They recounted their interactions with Alexis in a video posted Monday, describing him as "geeky" but generally nice. An employee at the Happy Bowl Thai restaurant in White Settlement told The Huffington Post that Alexis stopped working there four months ago.
Susie Bradley, who works at The Gift Connection next to the Thai restaurant, told The Huffington Post that she was stunned to find out that Alexis was the suspect in the Navy Yard shooting.
"This is all blowing all of us away. We cannot believe that Aaron would do something like this," she said. "He was the sweetest, outgoing guy there was. It's like they say, you never know. It's really shocking all of us."
"He was, honest to goodness, a normal, everyday guy. He would do his computer stuff and go to college," Bradley added.
She described Alexis as very "friendly and neighborly" and said they would sit and talk outside the store about "silly things." "Things going on in the world sometimes. We'd talk about all the TV shows -- normal stuff," she said. When Bradley saw a picture of him on television Monday, she thought, "Aaron, seriously, tell me this isn't you!"
Bradley said she met Alexis' parents "quite a few months ago." She remembered them as "really nice people." Alexis would said "Yes, ma'am" and "No, ma'am" to his parents, Bradley recalled, and he addressed other people with similar respect.
Kevin McDaniel, who owns a used furniture store next to the Thai place, told The Huffington Post that Alexis came to his store about three weeks ago with a request: Alexis said he was catching a plane the next day for a new job in Washington and wanted to sell his furniture.
"He seemed real happy about it," McDaniel said. "He seemed real glad, real chipper, real hip."
But McDaniel told Alexis that he didn't have time to look at the furniture. According to McDaniel, Alexis said that was all right and not to worry about it.
McDaniel said he found out that Alexis was the Navy Yard shooting suspect when he heard a customer talking with one of his employees. "Aaron Alexis, that can't be," he recalled thinking.
But he looked up the news. "At that point, my stomach flipped and I had to sit down, and it literally made me sick."
"The only thing I saw strange about him is that he knew how to speak Thai," McDaniel said. "I'm sort of a white boy. I would have invited him over to Christmas dinner -- he's just that nice of a guy."
The store owner said they would talk about the news and the Middle East. "We'd talk about the jihadists and stuff. He seemed just as disgusted with them as I am and everybody else in the United States," McDaniel said. "It gave no clues in any way, shape or form that he would do something like this."
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-16/washington-navy-yard-shooting-timeline-and-recap-13-dead-one-suspect-still-sought-qu
( Recently terminated by HP subcontractor company or recently hired - whose ID did he steal or obtain to gain access to the Naval Sea Systems Command HQ ? )
Washington Navy Yard Shooting Timeline And Recap: 13 Dead, One Suspect Still Sought For Questioning
Below is the latest summary of today's tragic mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yards which has led to 13 deaths so far.
- At least 12 people are dead after a shooting Monday morning in a heavily secured building at the D.C. Navy Yard, and authorities now say they have identified the gunman. The total fatality count including the shooter is 13.
- The man accused in a shooting rampage has been identified as 34 year old Aaron Alexis of Fort Worth, Texas.
- A photo of Alexis just released by the FBI:
- Alexis, who had been a full-time navy reservist, recently began work as a civilian contractor, authorities said.
- The FBI, which now is leading the investigation, believes the gunman used the identification of a man who used to work at Navy Yard, reported Pete Williams of NBC News. The ID was found next to the gunman's body in Building 197, where most of the victims were shot on the third and fourth floors.
- Survellance video shows the gunman entered the building at the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters, at 1336 Isaac Hull Ave., with a shotgun, News4's Jackie Bensen reported.
- He shot the security guard in the head, killing him. The shooter then continued through the building, and seemed to target his victims, who were mostly on the third and fourth floors.
- According to what witnesses are telling investigators, by the time the shootings ended, the gunman was seen with a semiautomatic 9 mm pistol and an AR-15 assault rifle. Authorities are investigating whether the gunman took the security guard’s service weapon – likely a 9 mm pistol – and hid in wait for the first responding D.C. police officers, who would be specially armed with AR-15s.
- A photo of Alexis just released by the FBI:
- According to DC Police there is still another suspicious man, African American in his 50s, who is sought for questioning.
- The other was a black man, about 50 years old, who was believed to be carrying a ‘long gun,’ police officials said.” As of about an hour ago, the former was reportedly cleared as a suspect; the latter may be “wearing an olive drab military uniform.”
- No one was allowed to enter or leave Senate buildings in Washington, D.C. for several hours Monday afternoon following a shooting rampage at the D.C. Navy Yard.
A live feed from NBC Washington:
An Eyewitness report from a Navy commander who explains how someone was shot in the head next to him:
A complete timeline of events from CNN:
8:20 a.m. -- Active shooter is reported inside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building (Building 197) at the Washington Navy Yard in southeast Washington, according to a statement from the Navy. There is one confirmed injury. A "shelter in place" order is issued for Navy Yard personnel. Several hundred people are evacuated.
9:40 a.m. -- Departing flights are held on the ground at Washington Reagan National Airport; some arriving flights are delayed. The Federal Aviation Administration later said this step was taken to give priority in the airspace around Washington to law enforcement helicopters and other aircraft.
9:50 a.m. -- A Metropolitan Police Department officer is among "several" injured in a shooting at the Navy Yard, according to a D.C. police spokeswoman.
9:56 a.m. -- President Barack Obama has been briefed "several times" about the situation by homeland security and counterterrorism officials.
10:05 a.m. -- U.S. Navy confirms via Twitter several injuries with reports of fatalities.
10:06 a.m. -- Chris Kelly, Metro police spokesman, tells CNN there are 10 victims, including a D.C. police officer and a law enforcement officer moments later described by another official as a base security officer. Kelly tells CNN the main suspect is an adult black male, 6 feet tall, bald head, medium complexion and wearing black clothing - black top and black jeans.
10:26 a.m. -- All flights resume at Reagan National.
10:34 a.m. -- Metro police spokeswoman Saray Leon denies media reports about three suspects possibly involved, saying authorities were looking for one suspect. Repeats 10 victims, but does not confirm fatalities.
10:36 a.m. -- Six public and private schools in the vicinity of the Navy Yard are locked down as a precaution. Two other public and two private schools would also be locked down. The nearby U.S. Transportation Department is also locked down.
10:55 a.m. -- A SWAT team is seen going through the gate at the main Navy Yard entrance. The SWAT team is seen escorting people out of the building where the shooter reportedly is located.
11:07 a.m. -- Law enforcement official reports the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives emergency response team is sent to the scene. It is the same one that helped Boston police apprehend Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The official notes the team includes approximately 20 specially trained, locally stationed special agents.
11:13 a.m. -- Multiple congressional aides from both parties who are involved in intelligence, homeland security and leadership say they have no indication that the attack at the Navy Yard was an act of terrorism.
11:29 a.m. -- Ed Zeigler, Director of Public Affairs for Naval District Washington, tells CNN two shooters "are down" at the Navy Yard. Zeigler cannot confirm if the shooters are in custody or dead. Zeigler also tells CNN there have been "multiple deaths" at the Navy Yard, but that those killed were not the two officers who had been shot. Zeigler says law enforcement is still trying to clear Building 197 to determine if there are any more shooters.
11:31 a.m. -- A Navy official tells CNN that Adm. Jonathan Greenart, the top Navy officer at the Navy Yard, was at his residence there when the shooting began. Greenhart was evacuated by secure vehicle, according to the official.
11:38 a.m. -- Janice Orlowski, chief medical officer at Washington Hospital Center, tells reporters at a briefing that her facility has received three gunshot victims -- one male and two females. The male has suffered from "multiple gunshot wounds to his legs," while one of the women was shot in the shoulder and the other was shot in both the head and one hand.
Orlowski says the survival chances for all three victims are "very good."
Orlowski also notes that the weapon used to shoot the victims "had to be a semi-automatic because they're talking about gunshots that they heard in rapid succession."
11:50 a.m. -- A senior U.S. Navy official tells CNN's Barbara Starr that one shooter is dead. The same official could not confirm there were other shooters, despite Zeigler's prior report that there were two shooters down.
12:09 p.m. -- The Pentagon issues a statement noting that "the Pentagon Force Protection Agency increased its security posture, not out of a specific threat, but as a proactive, precautionary measure related to the ongoing incident at the Navy Yard."
12:14 p.m. -- Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier says one alleged shooter is deceased, but two other potential shooters are still at large. Lanier says one of the potential shooters still at large is a white male in a tan military uniform, last seen around 8:35 a.m. in possession of a handgun. The other potential shooter still at large is an African-American male approximately 50 years old, last seen wearing olive drab clothing -- a possible military uniform -- and in possession of a long gun.
Lanier says there is no information indicating either of the two alleged shooters still at large are military personnel.
Lanier also notes that "multiple" victims are dead inside the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters building at the Navy Yard, and that there is still a "very active, ongoing" investigation.
12:20 p.m. -- Dr. Babak Sarani, chief of trauma and acute care at George Washington University Hospital, reports one person dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Victim pronounced dead upon arrival.
12:32 p.m. -- President Barack Obama, speaking on the fifth anniversary of the start of the financial crisis, says he has been briefed the situation at the Navy Yard.
"We still don't know all the facts, but we do know that several people have been shot and some have been killed. So we are confronting another mass shooting and it happened on a military installation in our nation's capital," Obama says.
"It's a shooting that targeted our military and civilian personnel. These are men and women who were going to work, doing their jobs protecting all of us. They're patriots and they know the dangers of serving abroad, but today they face the unimaginable violence that they wouldn't have expected here at home."
Obama called for a thorough investigation.
2 p.m. -- At least 12 people were killed in the shooting, Washington Mayor Vincent Gray said. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said authorities are looking for two additional people who they have reason to believe may have been involved in some way.
2:15 p.m. -- The Senate recessed due to the shooting events.
2:45 p.m. -- D.C. police report one of the people they were looking for -- the white male in a tan uniform -- "has been identified and is not a suspect or person of interest."
3 p.m. -- The Senate goes into "lock down" mode. Nobody is allowed to enter or leave that side of the Capitol due to "uncertainty surrounding the shooting" and particularly the possibility of suspects at large, according to Terrance Gainer, Senate Sergeant at Arms. The Capitol is not far from the Navy Yard.
3:30 p.m. -- The Washington Nationals canceled their game on Monday night due to the shooting, the team said in a statement. Nationals Park is just a few blocks from the Navy Yard.
4 p.m. -- The Washington FBI Field Office tells CNN the dead shooting suspect has been identified by ID and fingerprints as Aaron Alexis, 34, a military contractor from Texas
and more background on the dead shooter......
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2421980/REVEALED-Gunman-34-murdered-TWELVE-injured-15-Washington-Navy-Yard-rampage-decorated-petty-officer-left-military-2011-previous-gun-charge.html
The Washington Navy Yard gunman who killed 12 today has previously claimed to be suffering from PTSD after helping rescue efforts in New York following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Gunman Aaron Alexis was shot dead by responding officers after he opened fire inside a Navy facility around 8am on Monday morning.
Since he was identified as the shooter, reports have come out revealing that it was not the first time that he was involved in a shooting.
In 2004, he was arrested in Seattle for shooting the tires of someone's car during an anger-fueled 'blackout'.
'He said that he didn’t remember pulling the trigger of his firearm until about one hour later,' according to the Seattle police report.
Later he said that he felt the intended victim 'disrespected him'.
The report states that his father said his anger issues stemmed back to his time in New York where he helped the rescue efforts following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The shooter's father told police 'that his son had experienced anger management problems that the family believed associated [sic] with PTSD.'
He was arrested in relation to this instance but never charged, and the same outcome occurred in Fort Worth, Texas where Alexis was living in 2010.
He was arrested for discharging a firearm when his neighbor reported that Alexis fired a shot into their apartment. At the time, Alexis claimed that his hand slipped when he was cleaning his gun, accidentally shooting the weapon.
Today Alexis- who had three different types of guns on him when he was shot- killed at least 12 people in cold blood this morning at the Washington Navy Yard. The motive has not been revealed, speculation is growing his dismissal from the U.S. Navy for 'misconduct' in January 2011 may have inspired him to commit a deadly revenge.
It has also been revealed he was awarded the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal prior to his discharge in January 2011.
The family of the Washington shooter are 'distraught' to learn that he carried the massacre, relatives told MailOnline today.
Despite the lack of acknowledged motive, one U.S. official has been quoted as saying Alexis was kicked out of the Navy in 2011 for a series of incidents of 'misconduct'.
Law enforcement said that Alexis' identity was confirmed by fingerprints and that he served in the U.S. Navy between May 5th, 2007 and January 31st, 2011, the date he was dismissed from the service.
A U.S. Navy spokesman said that Alexis was an 'aviation electrician's mate' - ranked as a third class petty officer and served at the Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, Texas.
He is reported to have enlisted in New York and the Brooklyn native graduated from boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois as an Airman Recruit.
Throughout the late 1990s to 2002, he was listed as living in Manhattan and Queens in New York City - and he still maintains his New York social security number and is registered as a voter in New York City.
Alexis, who worked as a civilian I.T. contractor at the military base in the nation's capital, entered the cafeteria of Building 197 just before 8.15 a.m. brandishing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, shotgun and handgun and began shooting.
It is thought that he used another employee of the base's identification card to gain entry to the heavily secured Building 197, where he carried out his deadly attack.
After SWAT teams swarmed the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command the FBI said that Alexis was shot dead by officers.
During his rampage witnesses said he appeared to fire at selected targets and not randomly.
Washington D.C.'s FBI field office also reportedly said that they have 'all assets out' as they search for one other possible shooter they described as a black man in his 40s or his 50s.
According to a deleted Linked In profile, he attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and worked for a tech firm.
A former roommate from Ft. Worth, the owner of Happy Bowl Thai restaurant, told NBC News he had not seen Alexis in three months.
Police records reveal that Alexis was arrested for accidently discharging a firearm at his Ft. Worth home in September 2010.
A witness who lived in a neighboring apartment told police that she heard a pop and then to her horror a hole appeared in her floor and ceiling.
Alexis told police he was cleaning his gun when while cooking and that his hands were slippery.
All charges against him were dropped.
All charges against him were dropped.
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department chief Cathy Lanier said the other potential gunman was wearing a military-style uniform and has greying sideburns.
'It appears that we have at least 13 fatalities … it doesn’t get much more serious than that, obviously,' said Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray.
'We have no known motive at this stage. We will continue the investigation to try and figure out what that motive is.'
'We don’t have any reason to suspect terrorism, but certainly it has not been ruled out.’
Previously, Washington D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier said that law enforcement were searching for two individuals, one white and one black.
However, police have said they have identified the white individual and he's not a suspect or person of interest
'The big concern for us right now is that we have potentially two other shooters that we have not located at this point,' Lanier said earlier this afternoon.
Witnesses reported one man described as an African-American male dressed in military fatigues and armed with an AR-15 assault rifle opening fire upon entering the base at the Naval Sea System Command HQ.
Police are investigating whether the ID of a former Navy petty officer called Rollie Chance was used by Alexis to gain entrance to the the Navy Yard compound.
FBI investigators visited Chance’s home Monday but have not revealed how Alexis obtained the identification.
Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and other co-workers encountered a gunman in a long hallway of their building on the third floor. The gunman was wearing all blue, he said.
'He just turned and started firing,' Brundidge said.
Patricia Ward, who works at the Navy Yard, described how she was in the cafeteria when she heard 'three gunshots, pow-pow-pow, straight in a row.'
'All of the people that were in the cafeteria, we all panicked, and we were trying to decide which way we were going to run out,” she said to NBC News. “I just ran.'
Tim Hogan, a spokesman for Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, posted photos to his Twitter account of people helping someone who had been hit by gunfire.
The attacks came three days after al-Qaeda used the 12th anniversary of 9/11 to call for strikes on America.
‘We don’t even know, most of us, ourselves, the identities of the victims at this stage,' said Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray.
Three people, including a Washington D.C. police officer, were admitted to MedStar Washington Hospital Center with gunshot wounds.
They are expected to survive, chief medical officer Janis Orlowski told reporters this afternoon during an emotional press conference.
Hundreds of SWAT and FBI rapid response units descended on the nation's capital to deal with the situation which unfolded just before 8.30 a.m. this morning.
The mass shooting was the deadliest in the United States since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut last December, and the worst at a military base since 13 people were killed at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
The number of injured was not clear as of the early evening on Monday, but some reports placed it as high as 16.
Initial reports from the scene were that one of the suspects walked up to the facility, opened fire and then ran inside the building.
'The first call arrived, and ‘within 2 to 3 minutes, MPD officers were on the scene .. within 7 minutes we had active shooter teams … moving inside the building,' said Lanier.
Metro police got into ‘a final gun battle’ that killed the suspect.
‘One of the worst things we’ve seen in Washington, D.C.’
‘There was gunfire still going on’ while officers searched.
‘There’s no question he would have kept shooting’ if officers hadn’t killed him
Civilians inside the military complex described the frantic scenes that greeted them first thing on a Monday morning.
'There was three gunshots straight in a row,' said Patricia Ward, who works at the Navy Yard, describing how she first heard the gunfire while having breakfast at the headquarters building.
A few seconds later, Ward said she heard four more gunshots. Security guards rushed in and got people out as fast as they could - ''Run, run, run, 'they told people,' Ward told reporters.
NBC News, citing a senior naval officer at the Navy Yard, said at least 12 people had been shot.
'We saw him hold the rifle, and we saw him aim it in our direction,' said one witness to Fox News.
Another Navy official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than one gunman may have been involved. The Washington Post reported at one point that there were several gunmen.
The Navy said in a statement the shooting took place at the heavily guarded headquarters, where about 3,000 people work.
The shooting hit the military establishment less than three week after U.S. Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for murdering 13 people in 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas, where he gunned down unarmed soldiers in what he later called retaliation for U.S. wars in Muslim countries.
The Navy Yard is believed to have tight security.
Visitors without military ID must have a valid reason for entry and provide some other civilian identification.
The gates are protected by U.S. Marines and civilian security guards.
The National Museum of the U.S. Navy is in the grounds of the Navy Yard - and open to the public. However they must show ID to enter.
A U.S. Park Police helicopter lowered a basket to a building and lifted what appeared to be a shooting victim from the roof just before 10 a.m.
A Navy Yard employee told MailOnline that she thought the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard was undergoing a Fort Hood-style attack when she heard a total of nine shots on Monday morning, as a gunman opened fire on workers at one of the Navy’s largest facilities.
And she added that she wished she could have carried a gun to work with her.
‘A group of four of us were getting coffee down the hall and we heard three “pop, pop, pop” sounds,’ said Pat – who asked MailOnline not to publish her last name.
‘We all looked at each other and froze. And I said, “Oh, Jesus, here we go again. It’s another Fort Hood.”’
Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 and injured 30 others in a jihad-inspired attack at the Texas military base on November 5, 2009. A military panel recommended a death sentence for Hasan on August 28.
‘They couldn’t have been more than 30 or 40 yards away. We didn’t hear people screaming or anything. I mean, these are military folks we work with. But within a half-minute everyone was rushing down the hall and headed to the emergency exits.’
Terror at the Washington Naval Yard: How events Unfolded This Morning:
08.20am: Shots fired at Building 179 on the Naval Sea
Systems Command headquarters in Washington D.C. where about 3,000 people work.
08.30am: Base police enter the building following reports of an active shooter
09.00am: First responders arrive at the scene asloudspeakers are heard telling people on the naval base to 'shelter in place'
10.00am: The Navy reports one confirmed injury
10.06am: Roads and intersections closed around the Navy Yard as police cars and SWAT teams flood into the area
10.54am: Federal Aviation Agency grounds all flights at National Airport in D.C. due to Navy Yard incident
11.13am: First reports that three civilians, one metropolitan police officer and one officer on the naval base were shot
11.20am: Police report that a gunman has been shot dead
11.50am: Chief Medical Officer at George Washington Hospital confirms that they have taken three wounded - a police officer with bullet wounds to the leg; a female with gunshot wound to the shoulder; and a female with gunshot wounds to the head and hand
Midday: Washington Metropolitan Police Department Cathy Lanier says that one shooter is believed to be deceased at the scene while there are potentially two other shooters at large.
The potential shooters were believed to be dressed in military outfits
The potential shooters were believed to be dressed in military outfits
12.15pm: Woman who was shot in head confirmed dead, by medical staff at George Washington Hospital
12.20pm: President Obama makes a statement calling those who had been shot at the naval base 'patriots' and expresses his grief at another mass shooting
‘I heard lots of voices saying, “Let’s go! Now!” and in a minute or so I was outside.’
She spoke with MailOnline at a satellite parking lot adjacent to Nationals Park, where family members of Navy Yard employees met their loved ones.
Although she emerged unscathed, Pat said she would have felt safer if she had been permitted to carry her own gun to work.
‘I’m a gun owner, and so is my husband,’ Pat said, ‘but I work in D.C. so I can’t carry a weapon. Now I wish they would let us do it anyway. I felt like a fool walking around unarmed after shots were fired.’
SWAT officers, military police, U.S. Capitol police and Washington city police all rushed to respond.
Monday’s shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. has, currently, 'no known connection to terrorism,' according to an early internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by TheDaily Caller.
'Metropolitan Police is responding to reports of shots fired at the Washington Navy Yard Base,' the DHS report reads.
'Multiple units responding including SWAT unit at this time. Subject allegedly has multiple weapons.'
Earlier, according to a source at the Joint Terrorism Task Force there is no evidence that the attack is terror related at this time.
'There are 12 dead including the shooter. The entire JTTF is active on the case. But there is no conclusion that it's terror-related but DHS is leading the investigation and police are searching for two more suspects,' a source told the MailOnline.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, President Obama said that 'We send our thoughts and prayers to all the Navy Yard who have been touched by this tragedy.'
The president spoke of how the spectre of mass shootings had reared its head in America again and said that despite the Navy Yards housing civilians as well as military personnel,'Today they faced the unimaginable violence they wouldn't have expected at home.'
The Capitol police said they were stepping up security on the Capitol grounds and the White House.
Washington police told WRC that nearby schools were being locked down, and that some bridges were being closed as a precautionary measure.
Pat, who lives in a northern Virginia suburb of Washingtno, D.C., said she heard another group of six gunshots after the first barrage.
Emergency personnel are on scene and a 'shelter in place' order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel.
One suspect has been described as a black male, believed to be nearly six feet tall, wearing a military uniform and black hat, WUSA 9 News in D.C. reported.
President Obama was briefed about the shooting, according to a statement from the White House issued earlier in the morning.
'The President directed his team to stay in touch with our federal partners, including the Navy and FBI, as well as the local officials,' the statement said.
'We urge citizens to listen to the authorities and follow directions from the first responders on site.'
The shooter was "contained" but not yet in custody, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Helicopters swarmed overhead, schools were on lockdown and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were grounded as authorities swarmed the area in southeast D.C., just miles from the Capitol.
Witnesses described a gunman opening fire from the fourth floor, aiming down on people in the first-floor cafeteria. Others said a gunman fired at them in a third-floor hallway.
As witnesses emerged from the building, a helicopter hovered over the building, schools were on lockdown and airplanes at nearby Reagan National Airport were briefly grounded. Less than 2 miles away, security was beefed up at the Capitol, but officials said there was no known threat there.
The exact number of people killed and the conditions of those wounded was not immediately known. About 3,000 people work at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters, which builds, buys and maintains the Navy's ships and submarines and combat systems.
Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and other co-workers encountered a gunman in a long hallway of their building on the third floor. The gunman was wearing all blue, he said.
'He just turned and started firing,' Brundidge said.
Terrie Durham, an executive assistant with the same agency, said she also saw the gunman firing toward her and Brundridge.
'He aimed high and missed,' she said. 'He said nothing. As soon as I realized he was shooting, we just said, "Get out of the building."'
Rick Mason, a program management analyst who is a civilian with the U.S. Navy, said a gunman was shooting from a fourth floor overlook in the hallway outside his office. He said the gunman was aiming down at people in the building's cafeteria on the first floor. Mason said he could hear the shots but could not see a gunman.
Shortly after the gunfire, Mason said someone on an overhead speaker told workers to seek shelter and later to head for the gates at the complex.
Police and federal agents from multiple law enforcement agencies responded. Ambulances were parked outside, streets in the area were closed and departures from Reagan National Airport were temporarily halted for security reasons.
Among the wounded was a D.C. police officer, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
A U.S. Park Police helicopter hovered over the building and appeared to drop a basket with a person onto the roof.
Officials at MedStar Washington Hospital Center said two shooting victims had been brought there.
District of Columbia schools officials said six schools and one administrative building in the vicinity of the Navy Yard were placed on lockdown. The action was taken out an abundance of caution, schools spokeswoman Melissa Salmanowitz said.
Janis Orlowski, chief medical officer at George Washington Hospital said that they have taken three people who are seriously injured but have good chances of survival.
The doctor said that all victims are conscious and speaking. She said the first male victim has multiple gunshot wounds to the leg.
The second victim is female and has been shot in the shoulder. The third victim is female and has been shot in the head.
The hospital said that it is expecting to receive more of the injured.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the Navy's five system commands. With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navy's entire budget.
The Navy Yard is along the Anacostia River in Washington, near the headquarters of the Department of Transportation and the Washington Nationals baseball stadium.
http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/09/16/active-shooter-at-washington-navy-yard-reports-of-multiple-people-shot/
WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — At least two people have been shot and an active shooter is on the grounds of the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast D.C.
The U.S. Navy says three shots were fired at 8:20 a.m. Monday at Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building and D.C. police say at least two people have been shot.
The Navy Yard is on lockdown and a “shelter in place” order has been issued, the Navy says. About 3,000 people work in the building, the Navy says.
The 11th Street Bridge is closed in both directions. M Street is closed near New Jersey Avenue near 11th Street.
The New Jersey Avenue entrance at the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro station is closed.
****
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-there-is-an-active-shooter-at-washington-dc-yard-2013-9
The U.S. Navy announced that there is an active shooter at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.
Three shots were fired at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
The Navy said there is one confirmed injury.
Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the Navy's five system commands, accounting for a quarter of the Navy's budget, and is in charge of buying and maintaining Navy ships, submarines, and combat systems.
Base police are entering the buidling.
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=76609
Active Shooter at Washington Navy Yard
From Naval District Washington
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- An active shooter was reported inside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building (Bldg. 197) on the Washington Navy Yard at 8:20 a.m. (Eastern Time).
There is one confirmed injury. Emergency personnel are on scene and a "shelter in place" order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel.
This release will be updated as new information is confirmed.
There is one confirmed injury. Emergency personnel are on scene and a "shelter in place" order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel.
This release will be updated as new information is confirmed.
****
Hi Fred,
ReplyDeleteFirst I agree with Miss Hafeez that the problem is mental illness, helped by the prescription drugs with side effects of violent behavior. And studies do prove that the more guns a population owns the less violent crime.
This morning seems strange, new distraction shooting, PM's actually up a tad. Enenews.com has some interesting articles including a landslide at Japan's MOX fuel plant, flooded CO oilfields and of course Fukushima opening the gates because of flooding concerns.
Morning Kev and Ms Hafeez ! I'm still following the Washington D.C incident , seems as if the authorities now believe this is a one shooter event. Still trying to figure out why neither incident in which he discharged guns warranted some type of conviction , still trying to understand how after difficulties finding work for months , he suddenly was given this great job in Dc where he was quickly flown into town and set up in a Residence Inn type hotel. What type of background checks were performed here ? Have seen references allegedly mental illness / PTSD - but is this accurate ? Did he actually volunteer at 9-11 sites in NYC or will we find out that isn't true ? If he was " hearing voices " , being prescribed drugs to treat PTSD - how was that not picked up during his screening by his Employer ?
ReplyDeleteI agree today is an odd one , with the events of yesterday , the UN's report on Syria's chemical weapon was lost in the shuffle ... looked at the UN report quickly , while Sarin found , the type of sarin doesn't seem military grade - which muddies the waters as to who produced it and actually deployed it.
Saw the same items you saw on Energy News....Tepco dumped 1000 tons of contaminated water without attempting to measure how contaminated the water was..... typical ! And saw the item on the MOX plant - status not clear today as to where things stand there. Again , just so typical.....
PMs may be up today - but you know the actual there will come Wednesday when the Fed decision day action occurs.....