Megan McGee- Navy Yard Shooting

On Monday morning, Aaron Alexis walked into the Navy Yard base in Washington, D.C. where he had worked every day the previous week. He had “secret” clearance granted by the Defense Security service and walked into the Navy Yard without any problems. Alexis was carrying a bag which was concealing a Remington 870 shot gun which he purchased just a few days prior. Using his previous military training and knowledge of the building, he put together the shotgun and opened fire looking down onto employees having breakfast. Alexis was killed by police officers after murdering 12 victims and injuring 8.

After the initial shock of the shooting, investigators began to research Aaron Alexis’ past to find motives for this mass murder. Investigators found shocking discoveries about Alexis’ past that should have put up red flags. In 2004, Alexis was arrested for shooting a man’s tires in an angry “blackout”. Despite this event, his criminal background check cleared giving him the Secret Service clearance. He received 8 misconducts from the military throughout the duration of his active service. Alexis was discharged from the Navy for misconduct in 2010, but his clearance still remained in effect until 2017. On August 7, just weeks before the shooting, there was a harassment complaint on Alexis for having a “spat” with himself. He told authorities that there were voices in his head keeping him awake and following him. A few days before the shooting, Alexis contacted numerous veteran hospitals explaining that these voices in his head were keeping him from sleeping. Just two days before the shooting, he spent hours at the shooting range and bought the shotgun that he used at the Navy base that was cleared by the Feds.

If the military picked up on these red flags, could they have saved the lives of the 12 innocent victims murdered by Alexis? It makes me think that if the government missed out on these cues, are there other ones that they are missing out on? Victims in the future that can be saved from increased clearances? In recent shootings, the perpetrators often showed signs of psychological disorders and histories of violence in their past. I believe that there should be more intensive background checks including psychological tests for everyone who wishes to purchase guns. This may or may not violate the second amendment, but it could save the lives of innocent victims of these killing sprees. Alexis should not have had clearance into the Navy Yard still, and he should not have had the ability to purchase a gun with his unstable psychological state and criminal background. It makes you think, how many others are out there like Alexis who own a gun?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/17/us/navy-yard-shooting-main/index.html?hpt=hp_t1