Law Enforcement Shares Findings Of The Investigation Into The Washington Navy Yard Shootings

The FBI released video footage and photos of Washington Navy Yard Shooter today, as well as the findings of the investigation:

WASHINGTON—Today, law enforcement officials shared findings to date of the investigation into the shootings that occurred at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, September 16, 2013.

The developments were announced by Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department; Michael Monroe, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Carl Vasilko, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Teresa Chambers, Chief of the U.S. Park Police.

Through information and evidence gathered in interviews, searches, and other investigative activity, investigators and analysts have gained a greater understanding of the recent movements and activities of deceased shooter Aaron Alexis, 34.

Alexis was employed as a contractor for a private information technology firm. Pursuant to his employment, Alexis was assigned to a project at the Washington Navy Yard and he arrived in the Washington, D.C., area on August 25, 2013. From August 25 to August 31, 2013, Alexis stayed at a hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. From August 31 to September 7, 2013, Alexis stayed at a hotel in the Pentagon City area of Arlington, Virginia. On September 7, Alexis moved to the Residence Inn in Southwest Washington, D.C., where he remained through September 16, 2013. Alexis began working at the Washington Navy Yard on September 9, 2013.

On Saturday, September 14, 2013, Alexis purchased a Remington 870 shotgun and ammunition at a gun shop in Northern Virginia. On the same day, Alexis also purchased a hacksaw, among other items, at a home improvement store in Northern Virginia.

On the morning of Monday, September 16, 2013, Alexis arrived at the Washington Navy Yard. Alexis had legitimate access to the Navy Yard as a result of his work as a contractor and he utilized a valid pass to gain entry to Building #197. Shortly after his arrival in the building and over the course of approximately one hour, Alexis used the Remington 870 shotgun and a Beretta handgun he obtained during the course of his shooting to kill 12 victims and wound four surviving victims before he was shot and killed by law enforcement officers. Investigation to date has determined that Alexis acted alone.

The following timeline details Alexis’ activity during the morning of September 16, 2013:

• 7:53 a.m. - Alexis’ rental car, a blue Toyota Prius with New York plates, entered Parking Garage #28 at the Washington Navy Yard, located directly across from Building #197.
• 8:08 a.m. - Alexis exited Parking Garage #28 on foot carrying a backpack. Alexis entered Building #197 and proceeded to the elevator.
• 8:09 a.m. - Alexis exited the elevator on the fourth floor and entered the men’s bathroom carrying a backpack and a clipboard.
• 8:15 a.m. - Alexis crossed the hallway into the 4 West area of Building #197 with shotgun, but without the backpack or a clipboard.
• 8:16 a.m. - Alexis shot the first victim in the 4 West area of Building #197.
• 8:17 a.m. - First 911 call is received from the fourth floor of Building #197.
• 8:20 a.m. - Alexis left the fourth floor using the stairs and entered the third floor.
• 8:28 a.m. - Alexis appeared on the first floor.
• 8:57 a.m. - Alexis returned to the third floor.
• 9:25 a.m. - Law enforcement shoot and kill Alexis on the third floor.

Both weapons used by Alexis were recovered at the scene and have been submitted to the FBI Laboratory for forensic analysis. The Remington 870 shotgun had been altered with a sawed-off barrel and stock. Purple duct tape covered the end of the stock and handwritten etchings were present on various parts of the shotgun. Etched into the barrel of the shotgun were the words “End to the torment!” Etched into the right side of the shotgun receiver were the words “Not what yall say!” and etched into the left side of the receiver were the phrases “Better off this way!” and “My ELF weapon!”

Alexis’ backpack was located in the fourth floor men’s bathroom, hanging on the back of a stall door. Contents of the backpack included a roll of purple duct tape and electronic media. Searches were conducted of Alexis’ blue Toyota Prius rental car, located in Parking Garage #28, and his hotel room in Southwest Washington, D.C. Additional electronic media was located in the hotel room.

Analysis of the electronic media recovered from Alexis’ belongings revealed several relevant communications. While analysis of these communications is ongoing in conjunction with other information and evidence determined through investigation, preliminary analysis has yielded clues to his intentions and issues of importance to him. There are indicators that Alexis was prepared to die during the attack and that he accepted death as the inevitable consequence of his actions. There is no indication to date that Alexis was targeting specific individuals.

There are multiple indicators that Alexis held a delusional belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves. The etching of “My ELF weapon!” on the left side of the receiver of the Remington 870 shotgun is believed to reference these electromagnetic waves. In addition, a document retrieved from his electronic media stated, “Ultra low frequency attack is what I’ve been subject to for the last 3 months, and to be perfectly honest that is what has driven me to this.”

ELF technology was a legitimate program for naval sub-tonal submarine communications; however, conspiracy theories exist which misinterpret its application as the weaponization of remote neural frequencies for government monitoring and manipulation of unsuspecting citizens.

While announcing these developments in this ongoing joint investigation, Assistant Director Parlave, Chief Lanier, Special Agent in Charge Monroe, U.S. Attorney Machen, Special Agent in Charge Vasilko, and Chief Chambers commended the work of investigators and analysts who continue to conduct a complete and thorough investigation into the tragic events at the Washington Navy Yard.

Note: The above photo was released by the FBI. You can view additional photos and video from the Washington Navy Yard via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/navy-yard-shootings-investigation

Inconvenient Facts Involving The Washington Navy Yard Shooting

Charles C. W. Cooke at the National Review offers a piece that counters the comments from gun control advocates following the Washington Navy Yard shooting.

Now that the terrifying confusion has abated and the wildly varying reports have been collated into some sort of consensus, we are able to review what happened yesterday at Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard with a dispassionate and critical eye.

Doing so reveals that it is once again time for the friends of liberty to be blunt and to be forceful in the face of what will inevitably come. So resolved, let us lay down this marker: Those claiming that yesterday’s abomination demonstrates the need for stricter gun control are lying, or else they are ignorant, and, either way, they should be ashamed of themselves.

 It does no such thing.

We now know that the perpetrator owned only a Remington 870 shotgun, and that he murdered and maimed his way into possession of the two other weapons that he used in his attack.

Those weapons were two standard 9mm handguns — not, as the media tripped over itself prematurely to report, a much-maligned AR-15 “assault rifle.”

On his show last night, unrelenting bore Piers Morgan spent a great deal of time spreading misinformation about the role of the AR-15 in the shooting, a theme that the New York Daily News rather embarrassingly continued on its front page this morning. Although retractions will presumably be forthcoming in the usual tiny print, it is probably too late to remove completely the impression that the headlines will have left in the imaginations of many Americans.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/358714/gun-controls-dead-end-charles-c-w-cooke

Note: The above photo was released by the FBI.

Justice Rolls Slowly In Alleged 9/11 Suspects Case

Donna Miles at the American Forces Press Service offers the below piece:

FORT MEADE, Md., Feb. 15, 2013 - The latest round of pre-trial hearings for the alleged 9/11 mastermind and four accomplices wrapped up yesterday at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, much as it started: with hours of wrangling over legal and privacy issues and continued protests by the defense team that the system is rigged.

Army Col. James Pohl, the commission judge, concluded four days of pre-trial hearings in the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (seen in the above photo at the time of his capture), and accomplices Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

All five defendants were captured in Pakistan in 2002 and 2003 and have been confined at Guantanamo Bay since 2006.

They were charged during their arraignment in May 2012 with terrorism, conspiracy, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, murder in violation of the law of war, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking or hazarding a vessel or aircraft. The prosecution has since requested that the conspiracy charge be dropped.

Among the most significant developments during this week's proceedings was the revelation that microphones as well as cameras have been hidden in several locations around the detention facility -- including inside what looked like smoke detectors in rooms where defense attorneys meet with their clients.

Detention officials told the court these measures were taken for security reasons only, and prosecutors insisted that they have never eavesdropped on privileged conversations between the defendants and their counsel. The defense, however, called the mere presence of the microphones an ethics violation that undermines their ability to provide a valid defense.

Pohl ordered that the microphones be removed from rooms where the attorneys meet with clients, and agreed to a defense request that they be held so they can be inspected later, if the defense wishes to.

Defense attorneys also charged that the defendants' property, including confidential mail from their lawyers, had been seized from their cells this week while they appeared in court. Bin Attash, who was among those who reported missing items, stood up and began to address the judge about the matter. Pohl threatened to have him removed from the courtroom if he did not sit down, but assured him he would have an opportunity to speak later, under oath.

Navy Lt. Cdr. George Masucco, the detention facility's assistant staff judge advocate, told the court that the guards seized what they believed to be contraband materials during routine safety inspections earlier this week. Among the suspect material was a photo of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a metal pen, toilet paper that had English writing on it and mail that had not been properly marked to indicate it had been reviewed for content.

Masucco confirmed during cross examination that some of the challenged materials, including the photo, did, in fact, have the proper markings. However, he noted that some of those stamps didn't conform to established detention center requirements, such as the reviewer's initials.

Defense Attorney Cheryl Bormann argued that repeated inspections of the same materials by guards who rotate through assignments at Guantanamo Bay amounts to harassment. This led to a long discussion about the difference between an inspection and a search, and who needs to be present when one is conducted.

Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins, chief prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions, told the judge the camp commander would conduct an investigation to determine facts regarding the latest seizures. That information will be reported to the court within seven days, he said.

In addition, Pohl gave the defense a week to come up with recommended language about inspection protocols, and said the prosecution will get a week to comment on it. Based on that input, the judge said he will make a ruling to clear up future confusion.

In another matter, Navy Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, one of the defense attorneys, told the judge he had not received the support he needed within the timeframe he needed it, including security clearances for the translator he had requested.

Retired Navy Adm. Bruce MacDonald, the convening authority for the commissions, disputed Ruiz' claim, telling the court during testimony delivered via teleconference that he had complied with the defense's requests. MacDonald said he will step down from his three-year appointment when it expires March 21, before the next series of pre-trial hearings, scheduled for April.

All five defendants appeared in the courtroom yesterday. Mohammed, with a bright red beard, wore a traditional white turban and, in a concession the court granted at an earlier pre-trial hearing, a camouflage vest.

Instead Of Gun Control: More Private Security

Paul M. Barrett offers a good idea in Businessweek.

The movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., has provoked the usual calls for stricter gun control. Surely, liberals argue, we can do without 100-round drum magazines such as the one the Colorado killer is said to have used. The National Rifle Association, once it comes out of its bunker to respond, will oppose any and all new gun control laws.

... Today, let’s talk about something we could do without contentious legislative proposals or renewed culture war. Let’s talk about security guards.

If you really want to stop mass shootings in public places, demand that owners of movie theaters, supermarkets, playgrounds, and you-name-the-venue hire armed security guards to keep watch for people dressed in body armor and carrying weapons.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-23/instead-of-gun-control-more-private-security