September 16, 2013, started like any other humid Monday in D.C. for the thousands of employees at the Washington Navy Yard. By 8:15 a.m., that normalcy shattered. Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old civilian contractor and former Navy reservist, entered Building 197 and began a rampage that would leave 12 people dead.
It wasn't a sudden snap.
When you look back at the Aaron Alexis Navy Yard shooting, you see a trail of red flags that were either ignored, misunderstood, or simply lost in the bureaucracy of federal security clearances. This wasn't just a "security breach." It was a systemic failure. Alexis had a history of gun-related incidents and documented mental health crises that should have, by all accounts, stripped him of his "Secret" level clearance. Instead, he walked into a secure military installation with a disassembled Remington 870 shotgun in a shoulder bag.
The Morning of the Attack
Alexis arrived at the Navy Yard in a rented Toyota Prius. He used his valid Common Access Card (CAC) to enter the base. People often ask how he got a gun past security. He didn't smuggle a rifle. He carried a sawed-off shotgun in a bag, having purchased it legally in Virginia just days prior.
He went to the fourth floor. He emerged from a bathroom and started firing.
The chaos that followed was a blur of tactical responses and terrifying confusion. Building 197 was a "labyrinthine" office space, filled with cubicles and narrow hallways. This made the police response incredibly difficult. For over an hour, Alexis engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with law enforcement. He even managed to kill a security guard and take his Beretta 92FS pistol, using it to continue the assault. By the time a tactical team finally neutralized him, 13 people—including Alexis—were dead.
The victims weren't active-duty sailors for the most part. They were civilian employees and contractors. People like Mary Frances DeLorenzo Knight, a 51-year-old mother of two, and Arthur Daniels, a 51-year-old who specialized in moving office furniture. They were just at work.
The Red Flags We Can't Ignore
Honestly, the most frustrating part of the Aaron Alexis Navy Yard shooting is his background. He wasn't some "ghost" who came out of nowhere.
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In 2004, he was arrested in Seattle for shooting out the tires of another man's vehicle in what he called an "anger-fueled blackout." In 2010, he was arrested in Fort Worth for discharging a firearm through his apartment ceiling into a neighbor's unit. He claimed it was an accident while cleaning the gun.
How did he keep a security clearance?
The Navy actually tried to give him an early discharge for "misconduct" in 2011, but it was downgraded to an honorable discharge. This allowed him to maintain his clearance as a contractor for The Experts, a company working on Navy networks.
The Newport Incident
A month before the shooting, things got weird. Really weird. While on a job in Newport, Rhode Island, Alexis called the police. He told them people were following him. He said they were using "vibrations" and "low-frequency waves" to keep him awake and "penetrate" his body. He was suffering from severe paranoia and auditory hallucinations.
The Newport police actually notified the Navy. They sent a report. But because Alexis was a contractor and not active duty, the information didn't trigger a clearance revocation. It just sat there. This is where the system broke down completely. You have a man telling police he hears voices through the walls, and he’s still allowed to walk into a secure facility with a badge.
The Myth of the "AR-15"
Shortly after the news broke, initial reports claimed Alexis used an AR-15. This was false. It’s a detail that often gets mixed up in the public consciousness of mass shootings. He used a Remington 870 shotgun. He had sawed off the barrel and the stock himself. He had even etched phrases into the wood, including "My ELF weapon" and "End to the torment."
The "ELF" referred to Extremely Low Frequency. He genuinely believed he was being targeted by government mind-control technology.
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It highlights a chilling reality: his motivation wasn't political. It wasn't terrorism in the traditional sense. It was a violent manifestation of untreated paranoid schizophrenia. He wasn't trying to make a statement; he was trying to stop the voices.
The Fallout and Security Overhauls
In the wake of the Aaron Alexis Navy Yard shooting, the Department of Defense (DoD) had to face the music. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered a massive review of security procedures.
The biggest change? The "Continuous Evaluation" model.
Before 2013, if you had a Secret clearance, you were re-investigated every ten years. That’s a decade of life where anything could happen—arrests, debts, mental health breakdowns—and the government wouldn't necessarily know. Now, the system is much more automated. It flags arrests or financial changes in real-time.
They also realized that the "insider threat" isn't always a spy. Sometimes, it's a colleague who is suffering.
What the Navy Yard Looks Like Now
If you visit the Navy Yard today, Building 197 has been completely renovated and renamed the Humphreys Building. It doesn't look like a crime scene. It’s a modern office space. There is a memorial garden nearby—a quiet place with benches and water features. It's meant to be a space for reflection, but for those who survived that day, the memory is likely never far away.
The shooting changed how we think about "active shooters" in secure areas. We used to assume the badge was enough to prove you were "one of the good guys." Now, the military knows that the badge is just a piece of plastic.
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Identifying the Lessons Learned
If we want to prevent another tragedy like the Aaron Alexis Navy Yard shooting, we have to look at the intersection of mental health and access. It’s a touchy subject. Nobody wants to stigmatize mental illness, but we have to be honest about the risks of untreated psychosis in high-security environments.
- Information Sharing is Key: The Newport police did their job, but the Navy’s internal communication failed. If you see a report about a contractor hearing voices, that person shouldn't be on base the next day.
- Contractor Oversight: We rely heavily on private companies for defense work. These companies often lack the resources or the "command structure" to handle a troubled employee the way the military does.
- The "See Something, Say Something" Gap: Colleagues of Alexis noticed his behavior. He was losing weight. He was irritable. He was talking to himself. People are often afraid to report a coworker because they don't want to get them fired. In reality, reporting might be the only way to get them help before they reach a breaking point.
Actionable Steps for Workplace Safety
We aren't all working in high-security naval bases, but the lessons of the Navy Yard apply to corporate offices and public spaces too.
First, advocate for—or implement—Behavioral Intervention Teams (BITs). These aren't disciplinary boards. They are groups of HR, security, and mental health professionals who evaluate "concerning" behavior before it becomes "dangerous" behavior.
Second, check your local laws regarding the "Duty to Warn." In many states, if a mental health professional believes a patient is a threat to a specific person or place, they have a legal obligation to notify the authorities. Knowing these rules can save lives.
Lastly, stop ignoring the "minor" incidents. Aaron Alexis had a history of "minor" gun incidents. He shot a tire. He shot a ceiling. These weren't accidents; they were precursors. When someone demonstrates a lack of impulse control with a firearm, they have disqualified themselves from the privilege of carrying one or working in sensitive environments.
The Navy Yard shooting was a tragedy that was written in the stars for years. We just didn't bother to read the sky until it was too late. Ensuring that background checks are dynamic rather than static remains the single most important technical hurdle in modern security.