Washington Navy Yard shooting

Ryan Stoner, a 33-year-old tattoo artist, lives in the Brooklyn apartment below Aaron Alexis’s family — his mother, two sisters, a brother-in-law and nephew. Police have confirmed that the family living there is related to Alexis.

The family moved into the apartment in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood about a year ago, Stoner said, and have mostly kept to themselves. But after the FBI left around midnight on Monday, Stoner said Alexis’s sisters came downstairs to talk.

Stoner said the women told him that the FBI had asked the same questions over and over, questions they couldn’t answer. Stoner said the two women had not talked to their brother in years and that he had never visited their new home. When one of the sisters, Naomi Alexis, got married, her brother was not at the wedding. Her new husband, Anthony Little, has never met Aaron Alexis, Stoner said.

Aaron Alexis was geeky, arrogant and quiet, but social enough that he attended department parties when he worked at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, said Barry Williams, who was Alexis’ manager there.  Alexis was a part-time clerical assistant in the college’s administrative computing office from February 2001 to February 2003.

But Alexis did stand out in one area, Williams said.

“The only thing that I thought was maybe out of the average is he kind of held onto grudges a little more than most people,” Williams said. “Things that would bother him, they might be the same things that might bother other people, but three or four weeks later, even if it was a minor thing he’d still be grumbling about it.”

He couldn’t remember any specific examples, but he said they were all work related.

“Somebody would make a mistake that he thought was a bonehead idiotic mistake, but he’d go on and on about it for weeks,” Williams said. “He’d remember that same silly incident and go on and on about it.”

Williams, who is now the college information security officer but was the network manager at the time, said Alexis had been a student in the school’s continuing education program and received Cisco certification. Williams said that Alexis mostly helped to manage the routers and monitor the college’s network. At the time, such assistants often earned $10 to $12 an hour.

“He wasn’t the sort of quiet guy that turns out to do these things. He would go to the office parties. He would interact with people. It didn’t seem like he was the kind of person who was so withdrawn that would be boiling up in his subconscious ready to explode,” Williams said.

“The only thing I’m thinking,” he added, “is if decades of being the type of person to be easily frustrated and if there is some kind of violent tendency there, after a while that’s going to build up and it could be the next person who sets you off with the smallest thing.”

Kristi Suthamtewakul, a blond, quick-to-laugh woman, described Aaron Alexis as family. He lived with her and her husband, Nutpisit “Oui” Suthamtewakul, and was a staple at the Thai restaurant they own, Happy Bowl. But the relationship also had its strains.

Kristi Suthamtewakul said Alexis was frustrated with her cats and the fleas they had brought into the house. At one point, one went missing, but the couple said they don’t blame Alexis for that. They also stop short of accusing him of a sinister act committed around the same time: putting sugar in their car tank.

“I don’t know if he did it, honestly,” Kristi Suthamtewakul said. What she does know is that on July 5, her car wouldn’t start and few people had access to it. “Well, I can say our car was locked in the garage and he was the only one who had keys to the house,” she said.

According to an incident report from the Fort Worth Police department, Oui Suthamtewakul called authorities that day. A summary of the incident said he believed “his roommate put unknown substance in gas tank to damage vehicle.”

On Tuesday, when reporters asked Kristi Suthamtewakul  if she still considered Alexis family, she said yes.

“We don’t turn our back on our family,” she said.

Leslie Minora contributed to this report.

As Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) requested that the U.S. House of Representatives join her in a moment of silence, she read off the names of the 12 workers killed in the mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday.

Norton pointed out that many of those killed were “skilled, white-collar workers” whose presence in Southeast Washington jump-started revitalization in the surrounding neighborhood.

“Though we knew little of the work done in that secure facility,” Norton said, “we did know this: These federal employees deserve our respect and our admiration because they and their work were vital to our nation.”

The Department of Defense Inspector General’s office has released an audit that criticizes the Navy for cutting costs by reducing security at Washington Navy Yard and other facilities. Alex Rogers, a reporter in TIME’s Washington bureau, first reported on this audit Monday.

Toward the beginning of the 56-page document, dated Monday, is a memo from an assistant inspector general to top Navy officials that raises grave concerns about the Navy Commercial Access Control System (NCACS) and alleges that the Navy did not effectively mitigate risks associated with contractors. Such risks “allowed convicted felons to access Navy installations without the knowledge and approval of the installation commander,” the memo states.

You can read the full audit on the Web site of the Department of Defense Inspector General’s office: “Navy Commercial Access Control System Did Not Effectively Mitigate Access Control Risks.”

Aaron Alexis received treatment at two Veterans Affairs hospitals after having contact with police in Rhode Island in early August, according to federal law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Alexis said he was hearing voices and having problems sleeping, and he sought treatment for insomnia, the officials said.

Police in Newport, R.I., received a phone call from Alexis on Aug. 7 and responded at about 6:30 a.m., according to a police report. Alexis told police that he was on a business trip and had moved from hotel to hotel to escape three people who were keeping him awake “by talking to him and sending vibrations into his body,” according to police.

Alexis told police he did not have a history of mental illness in his family, “and that he has never had any sort of mental episode.” Lt. William Fitzgerald of the Newport police said that a copy of the report was sent to nearby Naval Station Newport.

Lisa Rama, a public affairs officer at Naval Station Newport, said officials at the Rhode Island military base were cooperating with the FBI. She declined to answer questions or comment on whether military police followed up on the August report.

Washington Post staff writers David Fahrenthold and Craig Whitlock contributed to this report.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate veterans affairs’ committees requested Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provide information about mental health care or other treatment it provided Aaron Alexis, the Navy Yard gunman who was shot and killed by police Monday.

Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), chairman of the House committee, sent a letter that asked the VA for “details surrounding any and all inpatient or outpatient care requested by and/or provided to Mr. Alexis, any appointments for care missed or pending by Mr. Alexis, his befits status, and any services that may have been afforded to him through any other program at the VA.”

Neither committee had received a response from the VA as of Tuesday evening, according to congressional officials.

“We’re referring all questions to the FBI,” said Victoria Dillon, a spokeswoman for the VA.

Leading up to Monday’s shooting, Aaron Alexis was living at a Residence Inn in Southwest Washington. Alexis checked into the hotel Sept. 7, FBI spokeswoman Valerie Parlave said Tuesday.

Late on Monday night, dozens of FBI agents trickled into the hotel, said Than Su, an employee at the Residence Inn gift shop. He said agents were still arriving when he left work around 11:30 p.m.

“This is quiet season,” said Su, who has worked in the shop for two years. “But it was not yesterday.”

Another gift shop employee, Hmwe Kyi, said that she recognized Alexis because she sold him a phone charger Saturday evening.

Victoria St. Martin contributed to this report.

President Obama has ordered the Office of Management and Budget to review the security standards for federal employees and government contractors, according to the Associated Press.

This follows news that Aaron Alexis, the gunman in the Navy Yard shootings, had secret-level security clearance since 2007. His clearance was updated in July.

More than 4.9 million federal government workers and contractors held a security clearance in 2012, most of them working for the Department of Defense, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The Office of Personnel Management, which handles security checks for more than 100 federal agencies, has been urged to improve the quality of such checks. That office looks at the backgrounds of about 2 million people a year. The agency’s inspector general said this year that there was “an alarmingly insufficient level of oversight” at the organization.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel plans to order a security review at all U.S. bases worldwide. This followed the order issued by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to look at security procedures at Navy and Marine Corps installations.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), in a letter released Tuesday, asked President Obama to form an independent panel to investigate the issues raised by the shooting.

“I have every confidence that the appropriate congressional committees and the Department of Defense, the Navy and federal and local law enforcement agencies will conduct a thorough investigation of the shootings,” Norton wrote.

But she said that questions about security are often “left almost exclusively to security and military experts.” These experts need additional experts in technology, psychology and city and land use planning, she wrote, because the Navy Yard and similar facilities are part of civilian communities.

The shooting should be used “to evaluate how to secure federal employees” at such complexes, Norton said.

Aaron Alexis had a history of mental illness and was treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, two federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Alexis also told people he was hearing “voices,’’ said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the investigation into the shootings unfolded, and said they could not specify the nature or duration of the mental health treatment that Alexis received.

The two officials could not say when the treatment took place, but a third federal law enforcement official said Alexis had contact with the VA recently. FBI officials said they were examining the mental history of Alexis, who was killed Monday in a gun battle with police after allegedly killing at least 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard.

You can read more here: “Navy Yard gunman had history of mental illness, checkered military career, officials say.”

The Washington Nationals punctuated the first game after yesterday’s Navy Yard shootings with a come-from-behind 6-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday afternoon, a game that opened with a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims and concluded with players’ thoughts, divided between an important win and the tragic circumstances that served as a backdrop.

Nationals Pitcher Stephen Strasburg and teammates wear Navy hats before playing the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Nationals Park is only a few blocks from Navy Yard, where 12 people and a gunman were killed Monday, and a stadium parking lot was designated as a meeting place for relatives and friends of Navy Yard employees. The Nationals wore special blue jerseys with red-and-white starred ‘W’s on the chest – shirts normally reserved for patriotic occasions such as Sept. 11 remembrances. They also donned Navy caps for pregame warmups.

“We’re still feeling it,” starting pitcher Dan Haren said. “I think at least when I woke up, driving to the field, crossing over the bridge – I look over there, and it made me think about it, and putting on the blue jersey before the game with the Navy hats, I think that we were all thinking about it all game, really.”

The Nationals and Braves will play the second half of the doubleheader at 7:05 p.m. You can read more about today’s game here:  “Nats stage three-run comeback in ninth to beat Braves in first game of doubleheader.”

How can you protect yourself during a mass shooting emergency? A former Navy SEAL offers advice.

Matt Maasdam, a former Navy SEAL and CEO of Move2Safety, which offers training to mitigate danger from “active shooters” and other emergency situations, joined Nia Malika Henderson On Background. Watch his full interview, and check out his top four tips for reacting to gunmen:

1. Move to safety
Move as fast as you can away from the threat. You can move toward anything, as long as it’s away from the person who is shooting.

An active shooter hits their target 4 percent of the time at close range if that person is moving, Maasdam said. “If you are moving, you are almost always going to get away safely. And those 4 percent don’t all die.”

That brings up another point: “If you’re hit, it doesn’t mean you’re dead. Keep going. Never quit. You can get to definitive care. Medical coverage in America is so good. It’s not like being in Afghanistan where you’d have to wait two hours for helicopter. There is going to be somebody there in a couple of minutes.”

2. Be aware of your exits
Most people think of their exit as the door they come in and out of at work every day. Consider emergency exits, windows, and other exits that you don’t typically use.

This is a SEAL training tactic. “When we get shot, the first thing we look for is an exit,” Maasdam said. “What we’re looking for is to get out of that line of fire.”

3. Utilize cover and get low
If there are chairs or anything else low in the room, duck to that height and stay behind it. Scramble on all fours in an effort to lower your profile.

“I’m 6 feet tall. If I’m standing up, I’m giving four feet of target,” said Maasdam. “If I’m down on my knees and move fast, I am giving him inches. It radically reduces the likelihood you’ll get hit.”

4. Don’t think it can’t happen to you
“I couldn’t believe it” is a common refrain after a shooting event. Maasdam said training for everyone would be ideal, but just thinking through the possibility and how you would react is a huge first step.

Details are beginning to emerge about what happened inside Building 197 at the Navy Yard in Southeast Washington on Monday. Many of those who were killed were in the building’s lobby and on the third and fourth floors, according to police. And as eyewitnesses share what they saw and heard on Monday, a fuller picture begins to emerge.

The Washington Post’s graphics staff has sifted through all of those reports and created this map: What happened inside Building 197?

TWD & Associates, Inc., an Arlington-based IT company, is mourning the death of two employees in Monday’s massacre: John “J.J.” Johnson, a company employee, and Frank Kohler, a subcontractor.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of our co-workers and friends and everyone affected by yesterday’s horrific events,” Larry Besterman, president and chief executive officer of the company, said in a statement on Tuesday. “These were dedicated employees who cared about their work and their colleagues. The senseless violence that claimed their lives cannot erase the memory of their friendship and contributions.”

TWD & Associates, Inc., had 145 employees and contract employees based at Washington Navy Yard.

You can read more about the 12 victims of yesterday’s shooting here: Remembering the victims.

The lawyer for SharpShooters Small Arms Range and gun shop in Lorton, J. Michael Slocum, this afternoon released a statement saying that Aaron Alexis purchased a Remington 870 shotgun and about two boxes of shells this past weekend.

Slocum said Sharpshooters ran a background check on Alexis through the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System database and was approved. Alexis does not appear to have had any convictions or formally reported mental health issues which would have prevented him from buying a weapon in Virginia.

Prior to the purchase on Saturday, Alexis rented a rifle, purchased some ammunition and fired in the SharpShooters shooting range, Slocum said. The Sunday visit was the only one by Alexis to SharpShooters, Slocum said.

The SharpShooters gun store and shooting range, in an industrial park on Terminal Road in Lorton, has been there since 1986, store employees said, and was originally known as Gilbert’s. Both the store and the firing range were busy as soon as they opened Tuesday morning. Employees referred all questions to Slocum, the store’s lawyer.

Federal investigators visited SharpShooters on Monday evening, Slocum said, and reviewed both the store’s records and its surveillance video.

This post was updated at 8:40 p.m. to correct the date that Alexis purchased the shotgun.

On Aug. 7, Aaron Alexis called police to his hotel room in Newport, R.I., and told them that he was being followed by three people who were keeping him awake “by talking to him and sending vibrations into his body,” according to a police report. The caller’s name has been blacked out on the report, but Lt. William Fitzgerald of the Newport police confirmed that it was Alexis.

The report says that Alexis told police he was a naval contractor and travels often. He said he had been in a “verbal altercation” with somebody on his flight from Virginia to Rhode Island. That unknown person had sent people to follow him, Alexis told police. He had moved from a hotel in Middletown, R.I. to a hotel on a Navy base, but “he heard the same voices talking to him through the walls, floor and ceiling,” the report says.

When Alexis called, he was in his third hotel. But he told police that “the voices were coming through the ceiling,” and that the people were using “’some sort of microwave machine’ to send vibrations through the ceiling, penetrating his body so he cannot fall asleep.”

Alexis would not say what the voices were saying to him, the report said. Alexis “stated that he has never felt anything like this and is worried that these individuals are going to harm him,” the report said.

Alexis told police he did not have a history of mental illness in his family, “and that he has never had any sort of mental episode.”

Officers told Alexis not to have contact with the individuals he believed to be following him, and left. In a telephone interview, Fitzgerald said there was no cause for an arrest.

“He called us, as the victim. He was fearful that these people were going to harm him,” Fitzgerald said. He said officers saw no reason to bring Alexis in for mental-health treatment: “People make a complaint like that to us all the time.”

Fitzgerald said that a copy of the report was sent to nearby Naval Station Newport. He did not know what happened then. “They said they would follow up,” Fitzgerald said.

Lisa Rama, a public affairs officer at Naval Station Newport, said officials at the Rhode Island military base were cooperating with the FBI. She declined to answer questions or comment on whether military police followed up on the August report from the Newport Police Department that Alexis had been “hearing voices.”

Washington Post staff writer Craig Whitlock contributed to this report.

How do people return to normal life after witnessing a horrific crime? Nia-Malika Henderson talks to Alan Lipman, a psychologist from the Center for the Study of Violence. (The Washington Post)

More details emerged about the timeline of Monday’s mass shooting. D.C. police officers arrived at the scene within two minutes of receiving a call for help. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said two emergency response units arrived outside the building within seven minutes and could hear shots inside. They entered the building immediately, she said, and engaged multiple times with the shooter for a period of more than a half hour.

The 12 employees were shot to death by Alexis inside the building, “while in the lobby, and on the third and fourth floors,” according to a statement from the D.C. police.

Alexis was “determined to kill as many people as possible,” Lanier said, and officers “saved numerous lives by engaging the way they did.”

Valerie Parlave, head of the FBI’s field office, told reporters Tuesday that Alexis entered the building using a valid access card with a shotgun he purchased legally and “may have gained access” to a second handgun inside. Parlave said Alexis did not have an assault rifle and a spokeswoman said Alexis did not use one.

Parlave said the FBI is looking into Alexis’s past, including his medical and criminal history, but declined to answer additional questions about his record.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel intends to order a security review at all U.S. military bases worldwide, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday afternoon. The review would examine the physical security of military bases, as opposed to the granting of security clearances to individuals.

Hagel’s order comes after a similar order issued by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to examine security procedures at Navy and Marine Corps installations in the United States.

We have updated our page with information about the victims of Monday’s shooting.

John Roger Johnson, 73, “always had a smile on his face.” Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, was recalled as “a very loving, caring, gentle person.” As we have reached friends and family, we have learned more about these people and their lives.

Read more here.

The shotgun used in the attack was purchased legally in Virginia, Valerie Parlave, the assistant FBI director in charge of the D.C. field office, said during a news conference.

D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier said during a news conference that Metropolitan Police Officer Scott Williams, one of the people injured during the attacks, is doing well and is in good spirits.

Aaron Alexis arrived in the D.C. area on or around Aug. 25 and has been staying at local hotels since that time, said Valerie Parlave, the assistant FBI director in charge of the D.C. field office, during a news conference.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations is reporting that suspected gunman Aaron Alexis entered Building 197 with a shotgun. Authorities believe he obtained a handgun after entering the building, said Valerie Parlave, the assistant FBI director in charge of the D.C. field office, during a news conference.

The shooting at the Navy Yard joins the ranks of the deadliest such events in recent U.S. history. As with these earlier shootings — including the Newtown, Conn., shooting that killed 26 people (20 of them children); the movie theater assault in Aurora, Colo., that killed a dozen; and the Virginia Tech massacre that killed 32 people — the attack prompted calls for tougher gun laws.

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) raised the issue after the U.S. Senate convened on Tuesday morning, as Ed O’Keefe reports:

During a Senate floor speech, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said that Americans agree that some “common sense” changes are needed to prevent mentally ill people from obtaining firearms….

“We can protect the right of law-abiding citizens to use guns in a responsible, legal way for sporting and hunting, self-defense, but we’ve got to do everything we keep guns out of the hands of those who would misuse them,” Durbin said. “Felons who have a history of misusing firearms, the mentally unstable, who can’t be trusted to have a firearm.” 

Attempts to overhaul the nation’s gun laws in the wake of the Newtown shooting failed in April, with the Senate voting down proposals like increased background checks and bans on some types of assault rifles. 

It’s possible this shooting will lead to a new debate about gun-control laws, though it’s unclear right now if that will actually result in any legislative changes. Aaron Blake rounded up six charts that show, among other things, how public support for increased gun control tends to spike after shootings and fades as public attention turns to other things.

Another aspect of the shooting that has drawn scrutiny is the fact that the alleged gunman was hired as a federal contractor despite arrest records and treatment for mental illness.  The shooting has turned some attention to the background check process used to investigate federal employees and contractors. Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), who has led federal oversight over federal employees and the District of Columbia, says the shooting should lead to a serious look at how these background checks are conducted. 

Meanwhile, if you are a federal employee or contractor, we want to hear from you. Head here to share your thoughts.

Only a smattering of fans had found their seats when the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves observed a moment of silence prior to the first of two games Tuesday at Nationals Park, just blocks from the scene of Monday’s mass shootings at the Navy Yard.

The BWI Honor Guard presented the colors, and public address announcer Jerome Hruska said: “Yesterday, the nation’s capital was devastated by a senseless act of violence, just a few short blocks from here at the Washington Navy Yard. In the face of this horrific attack … we remain united.”

With both teams standing outside their dugouts – and the Nationals wearing Navy hats in honor of the victims – Hruska asked for a moment of silence, which lasted nearly a minute. Flags on the left field concourse flew at half-staff.

Tabatha Massenberg, from Reagan National Airport, then sang the national anthem. The game, postponed from Monday night, began at 1:07 p.m. with only a few thousand fans in the park.

The recovery of a shotgun in the wake of Aaron Alexis’s deadly shooting rampage at the Navy Yard yesterday is somewhat atypical of crime guns seized by law enforcement.

Law enforcement officials say that the shooting spree began when Alexis shot a guard at Building 197, most likely with a shotgun he brought with him. Alexis then may have seized a handgun from the guard, shooting 12 people to death before police killed him in a gun battle.

According to data compiled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the agency last year recovered and traced about 235,000 firearms in police matters nationwide. Of those, only 12 percent – or about 28,000 — of those were shotguns.

The types of weapon most commonly traced by the ATF in 2012 were pistols (50 percent), revolvers (20 percent) and rifles (17 percent).

Gun tracing is one of the agency’s chief investigative tools. A successful trace tracks a gun through its serial number to identify the person who first purchased the weapon and the dealer who first sold it. According to officials, a gun trace showed that Alexis purchased the shotgun at a licensed dealer in Lorton.

A vigil to remember the victims of the Navy Yard shootings has been scheduled for Tuesday evening.

The interfaith vigil, organized by Project End Gun Violence, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on the corner of M and 8th streets in Southeast Washington.

Employees at the Department of Transportation, which is near the site of Monday’s shooting, were locked down for several hours on Monday. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx wrote a message on Tuesday, expressing condolences for the tragedy that occurred feet from the DOT building:

Yesterday was a terrible day for our community.  Our colleagues at the Navy Yard experienced an incomprehensible act of violence that resulted in loss of life and disruption of everyday life for so many.

For more, head over to Dr. Gridlock.

Nationals Manager Davey Johnson admitted that “you never like to play two [a doubleheader] but acknowledged the role that sports can play the day after a tragedy like the Navy Yard shootings.

“I think sports here in America gets you to quit thinking about your problems and the problems in the world,” he told reporters, “and look at some highly talented young athletes compete.

“It keeps us sane.”

The Nats have a long-standing relationship with the military, often honoring service members, and the Navy Yard is nearby.

“I’ve been all over that naval base. We’re neighbors,” he said. Shaking his head at the tragedy, he added: “it’s hard to … That’s this day and time. It’s hard to believe stuff like that goes on. It’s tough.”

Be sure to wear your blue and gold to the game today! #NAVY pic.twitter.com/0Kf5VculJo

— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) September 17, 2013

Craig Stammen and Ross Detwiler sporting the Navy caps during warm-ups. pic.twitter.com/W415qG2bE6

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) September 17, 2013

On Tuesday, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus ordered broad security reviews for all Navy and Marine Corps bases and installations worldwide.

A Navy official said there would be two separate security reviews. The first would be a quick assessment to make sure that current “physical” security standards are being maintained properly, such as checkpoint procedures on bases. The second would take a broader look at access to those bases and whether new regulations might be required.

The Navy said the timing and further details of the reviews are still being worked out.

Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s office said Tuesday an “assistance center” would open near the Navy Yard for workers, neighbors and other witnesses to Monday’s shootings.

It is located at the King Greenleaf Recreation Center, located in Southwest about three blocks from the Navy Yard, and is open Tuesday until 9 p.m.

“Crisis counselors and advocates will be at the rec center to assist with any needs, including mental health assistance, compensation assistance and assistance with return of property left in the buildings at the Navy Yard,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

Families of the dead and the seriously injured are also encouraged to contact an FBI assistance center at Joint Base Bolling.

The nation’s capital has a long history of gun violence. A look back at the shootings which shocked the area and made headlines nationwide. (In Play/The Washington Post)

With Monday night’s game postponed after the Navy Yard shooting, the Washington Nationals began assembling around 10 a.m. Tuesday with a doubleheader on tap — the postponed game at 1:05 p.m., the regularly scheduled game at 7:05 p.m. — but other thoughts on their minds.

“It’s a funny feeling,” center fielder Denard Span said. “I was driving around today, just kind of looking around, and saw a lot of police cars. It’ll probably take a couple days before you feel safe or you realize that what has happened really hasn’t sunk in yet. But just an odd 24 hours.”

Nationals Park is located less than a mile from the site of the shooting, but officials from the Nationals and Major League Baseball waited until just before 3 p.m. Monday to postpone that night’s game against the Atlanta Braves. Many players — particularly from the Braves, who took a bus from the team hotel — had already arrived at the ballpark, but Atlanta Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he didn’t think officials waited too long for a postponement.

“There’s a lot of stuff that goes on that we don’t know about,” Gonzalez said. “I’m sure you just can’t flip a switch.”

Players, though, were clear that a postponement was the correct decision.

“I mean, these are people’s lives that were lost yesterday,” Span said. “I think it was a smart move not to play yesterday because there were still a lot of unknowns going on — people’s safety in the neighborhood, and just even if there were fans coming out. You just got to think about the big picture.”

Just more than an hour-and-a-half before the first pitch, there was nearly no crowd on Half Street, the walkway that leads to the ballpark from the Navy Yard Metro station.

The D.C. police just confirmed the identities of these victims killed in the shooting:

• Mary Francis Knight, 51, of Reston
• Gerald L. Read, 58, of Alexandria
• Martin Bodrog, 54, of Annandale
• Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, of Westminster
• Arthur Daniels, 51, of Southeast Washington

Authorities had confirmed the identities of these victims earlier:

• Michael Arnold, 59, of Lorton
• Sylvia Frasier, 53, of Waldorf
• Kathy Gaarde, 62, of Woodbridge
• John Roger Johnson, 73, of Derwood
• Frank Kohler, 50, of Tall Timbers
• Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, of Waldorf
• Vishnu Schalchendia Pandit, 61, of North Potomac

For more on the victims, head to this page. We will update it with more information as it becomes available.

Aaron Alexis’s employer said he would not have hired the Fort Worth computer technician if he had known of some of his brushes with the law and said the military should have shared more information with them about Alexis’s history.

Thomas Hoshko, chief executive officer of The Experts, said he was disturbed upon seeing media reports about police filing reports about Alexis shooting at a construction worker’s tire in 2004, and into the ceiling of his Fort Worth apartment in 2010.

“If I can find this out just by doing a Google search, that is sad,” Hoshko said. “Anything that suggest criminal problems or mental health issues, that would be a flag. We would not have hired him.”

Alexis was working with The Experts firm on its  subcontract handling computer refreshing for Navy and Marine Corps installations. The company confirmed Tuesday morning that Alexis had been working since July at six different installations – including  Arlington, Va, Cherry Point, N.C., and Stafford, Va. He had worked for several days before the shooting at the Navy Yard.  These were previously unknown.

Hoshko said he and other contracting firms rely on the military to approve the security clearances of their employees, and fears that budget crunches have led to faster and less thorough checks.

“None of this was made aware to us or to the company,” he said. “If there’s not full disclosure on this, how do they expect us to make good decisions about who to trust and hire.”

At 1 p.m., baseball will return to Nationals Park when the Nationals play the first game of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves.

There’s a budding movement for fans to wear blue and gold, the Navy’s colors, and Nats broadcaster F.P. Santangelo has his wardrobe picked out.

Wearing this today in honor of the U.S. Navy and in remembrance of the Navy Yard shooting victims. #Nats pic.twitter.com/zLEAIFGlz8

— F.P. Santangelo (@FightinHydrant) September 17, 2013

Admittedly, though, a baseball game can only do so much in the face of such terrible loss.

Denard Span: "Baseball, it's just a game." On whether Nats can help heal: "I doubt it. There's a lot of hurt families."

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) September 17, 2013

This morning, Admiral James A. Winnefeld, vice chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited the Nationals’ clubhouse to distribute Navy caps for players to wear during batting practice, the Post’s James Wagner reports.

In the wake of Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, The Post’s Pentagon Correspondent Ernesto Londoño speaks with us about how the military will need to reassess its security protocols. (The Fold/The Washington Post)

The sound of construction trucks beeping, cranes swinging overhead and hammers slamming filled the air around the Navy Yard Tuesday morning as huge construction sites adjacent the Yard kicked back into normal life.

The Yard sits on the Anacostia waterfront, a newly refurbished boardwalk where joggers trotted along, and workers taking smoke breaks walked or sat in the sun.

“I admit I was looking nervously at your backpack,” one DOT employee who wouldn’t give his name half-joked.

Thousands of workers were back at their federal jobs in the big office buildings next to the gated Navy Yard.

“We’re just talking a lot about how he could have been out here with us sometime,” the employee said. “It’s scary.”

Numerous schools in the District were placed on lockdown Monday — but in at least one school near the shooting site, parents wound up on lockdown, too.

A note this morning from Principal Mitchell Brunson to parents at Tyler Elementary, located on Capitol Hill about 3/4 mile away from the Navy Yard, said “several dozen” parents were dropping their children off at school when the lockdown order came. These parents ended up staying at the school all day helping with classes.

The message from Brunson also included advice for talking to children about the events.

“Finally, while many of our children will likely return to their normal routines today, I encourage you to keep your eyes open for any changes in your child in the coming days or weeks,” the note said. “Changes in behavior, demeanor, etc. may signal that your child is struggling to cope with the news of yesterday’s tragedy. “

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel attended a ceremony at the Navy Memorial honoring the victims of Monday’s shooting.

The memorial is located on Pennsylvania Avenue in downtown Washington, just over two miles away from the Navy Yard. A wreath was placed near the symbolic statue of the Lone Sailor, a sculpture representing all of the people who have served in the Navy or other sea services.

Nearly 24 hours after the Navy Yard shootings nearby, Nationals Park prepared for a normal day of work.

On Monday, N Street was filled with police cars and buses. Families and Navy Yard employees used Lot B in left field as a meeting point. By Tuesday morning, the street was empty. Grounds people raked the infield. Bullpen coach Jim Lett carried a bag of balls to the bullpen.

There was one reminder of the tragic incident the day before: as they were Monday afternoon, the flags in left field remained at half-staff.

(Photo by James Wagner/The Washington Post)

On Tuesday, Navy officials provided more information about suspected gunman Aaron Alexis’s four-year career as an aviation electrician’s mate in the Navy Reserves, a period marked by repeated run-ins with the law and his military superiors.

Alexis was cited on at least eight occasions for misconduct, according to a Navy official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the gunman’s personnel record in detail. Some of the offenses were minor, such as a traffic ticket and showing up late for work. But Alexis was also accused of more serious misbehavior, including insubordination, disorderly conduct and multiple extended, unauthorized absences from work. And he was given an administrative sanction after he was arrested by civilian authorities in DeKalb County, Ga., in 2008 and held for two nights in jail, the Navy official said.

Also Tuesday, the Navy corrected its previous account of the circumstances under which Alexis left the service. He received an honorable discharge, effective Jan. 31, 2011, the Navy official said. On Monday, the Navy mistakenly said he 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 Navy official clarified that the service had originally sought to kick out Alexis with a general discharge, but those proceedings were moving slowly. Alexis applied on his own to leave the Navy in early 2011 with an honorable discharge, and the service granted his request, the official said.

The little grid of row houses that make up the residential area next to the Navy Yard seemed quiet, if back to normal this morning. Road closures were lifted, kids were at corner parks, on-foot city workers were cleaning trash. The only crowded spot was the huge media scrum still set up at M and 3rd streets SE, blocking the sidewalk for pedestrians heading to work.

Justin Steele was outside in the sunshine fixing his bike, trying to decide if he should tell his 4-year-old daughter why she and her two younger siblings weren’t allowed outside yesterday. They live a couple of blocks from the Navy Yard. He told her about Assad and Syria this summer, and she was terrified. He tried to tell her the “bad man” was across the ocean, far away.

“Especially since it’s right here,” Steele said. He thought she would be scared. Some neighbors work at the Navy Yard, including one who escaped from the floor where the shooting occurred.

In the end, Steele said, he told his daughter, who had been playing in bare feet and urging her Dad to focus on her.

“I don’t like to keep things from her. She’s okay. She’s trying to wrap her head around why someone would do that. She had to count to 12 to understand how many people that is,” she said.

Etagegne Wolde, 48, of the District, was scared to come to work Tuesday. She spent all day Monday hiding inside the house near the Navy Yard where she works as a home health aide, listening to helicopters, police cars and ambulances, crying. Her patient was frightened and in tears, too.

Wolde, who moved here from Ethiopia eight years ago, couldn’t believe such violence could happen in the United States.

“This country is nice. The people are nice. I don’t know why people do these bad things,” she said. “In the capital of America!” She pulled her thin coat tighter around her throat against a morning chill.

She didn’t want to come to work Tuesday.

“I’m scared. I’m thinking more happen, more? I’m scared. I’m scared,” she said.

But, like so many who steeled themselves to go back to the Navy Yard despite the memories and the sorrow Tuesday, she had to work. So she prayed.

“‘God, please, no bad things more. You save us,'” she said. She smiled, with sad eyes. “I prayed for me, for everybody.”

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray suggested today that the cuts made by sequestration may have hampered the response to the Navy Yard shootings.

“It’s hard to know (what could have prevented it),” Gray said on CNN. “We’re continuing this investigation. But certainly, as I look at for example sequestration, which is about saving money in the federal government being spent, that we somehow skimped on what would be available for projects like this, and then we put people at risk. Obviously 12 people have paid the ultimate price for whatever — you know, whatever was done to have this man on the base.”

Gray said the the Navy Yard is a very secure military installation and that suspected gunman Aaron Alexis, who reports indicate had been arrested and has a history of mental illness, shouldn’t have been allowed access.

“It really is hard to believe that someone with a record as checkered as this man could conceivably get clearance, could get credentials, to be able to get on the base,” Gray said. “I just met with the commandant of the Washington Navy Yard last week. We were talking about the security, and we know this is one of the most secure facilities in the nation. So how this could happen is beyond belief.”

Watch the interview here:

In the aftermath of Monday’s shooting at the Navy Yard, there’s still much we don’t know about the shooting, the victims and the suspect.

The shooting:

There are still many key details that remain unclear. We know that the shooting began at 8:15 a.m. in Building 197. Investigators said the gunman shot a security guard at the building and took the guard’s handgun. At least one witness says they saw the gunman shooting at people in the first-floor cafeteria from a fourth-floor overlook. But we don’t know more about where else the suspect may have opened fire. Officials say active shooter teams engaged the suspect several times before at least two officers fatally wounded him, but we don’t know details on these firefights. D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier declined to say how many shots were fired.

The victims:

At least 12 people are dead (not including the shooter) and several others were wounded on Monday. We know the names of eight of the victims killed Monday. Police have not publicly released the identities of the remaining victims, nor have they identified all of the people wounded. We have information about the eight victims confirmed so far here, and we will update that page as we get more information.

The suspect: 

Details on Aaron Alexis, named by authorities as the suspected shooter, are beginning to trickle out. He was discharged from the Navy Reserve in January 2011, the year after he was arrested for firing a bullet into his neighbor’s apartment. Alexis was scheduled to start working at the Navy Yard this month. There’s still no word about any motive. The Associated Press reported on Tuesday morning that Alexis had been suffering from mental health issues and had been hearing voices, but we haven’t confirmed that.

People seek shelter outside the closed Navy Yard Starbucks on Monday after the shooting. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

One sign of life getting slowly back to normal: The Starbucks on M Street near the Navy Yard had been shut down after the shooting Monday morning and, because of a small roof over the door, served as a shelter from the cold driving rain for a crowd of people, Navy commanders and waitresses from a nearby Thai restaurant and transportation analysts and construction workers all huddled together, frightened and seeking news.

At 8:40 a.m. Tuesday morning, the sun was back, workers were barking orders for tall skim macchiatos, and 38 people were standing in line for coffee.

— Susan Svrluga

Commander Andrew House, 46, Navy JAG, of Dunkirk, Md., was walking along M street in his tan uniform in the early morning sunshine Tuesday, heading back to work at the Navy Yard.

“I’m kind of anxious to go back,” he said. “It was pretty tough and tense yesterday, especially not knowing how many gunmen there were or where, and I think one of the important things to do is go back and do the work of the Navy — not let one person stop us from doing that. We need to do the work of the Navy.”

He paused, struggling for words for a moment as he thought about the families who had lost someone. “It was a pretty long night thinking about those families,” he said finally, shaking his head.

House was in building 33 and could see and hear nothing but helicopters overhead. As they sheltered there, some of them were escorted by police to safer locations. House had warm praise for local and federal law enforcement for taking charge of the situation, keeping people calm, and keeping them as safe as they could.

The Metro felt empty this morning, and the sidewalks on M Street, usually full of DOT and Navy personnel, were wide open and quiet. “It’s surreal,” House said, looking around.

“If you say one thing,” he said, “say our hopes and prayers are with the families. That’s the most important thing. If there’s anything we can do for them, we’ll do it.”

Then he turned, and walked to work at the Navy Yard.

— Susan Svrluga

On Tuesday morning the neighborhood around the Navy Yard was quiet.

On Monday morning, all the routine sounds of the morning commute — buses lumbering past, the mechanical ticking and chirping directions of the walk sign for pedestrians to cross M Street SE, the clanging from the big construction project nearby — were drowned out. Sirens wailed, police cars sped past, helicopters thundered overhead.

Even many blocks north on Capitol Hill Monday morning, commuters could sense early that something awful had happened, as cars edged over to let shrieking ambulances through.

But on Tuesday, it was quiet. No helicopters circling, circling. No sirens. M Street was open again, but with only a few employees going to work in the area, neighbors like Marianne Lawrence, who works at a housing nonprofit, marveled at the stillness. Usually the street is busy with cars and the streets packed with commuters rushing to work. But she was out walking her Australian shepherd, Alice, glad to see a construction crew getting back to work, someone clearing trash, someone jogging, a couple of people getting eggs at the Sizzling Express.

“It was eerie,” she said. “When they say ‘shelter in place,’ I didn’t know what that meant. Now I do.”

The crosswalk signal beeped, and she headed across M street, taking Alice for a quiet walk along the river.

— Susan Svrluga

Most streets around the Navy Yard reopened to traffic Tuesday morning, but one block remains closed.

Third Street between L and M streets in Southeast Washington is closed, D.C. police said. All other streets and bridges are open.

Only 3rd Street SE between L and M streets remains closed. (Map courtesy of D.C. Police)

Twelve people, ranging in age from 46 to 73 years old, were killed in the shooting rampage at the Navy Yard on Monday.

Eight of the victims have been identified:

Michael Arnold, 59.

Arthur Daniels, 51.

Sylvia Frasier, 53.

Kathleen Gaarde, 62.

John Roger Johnson, 73.

Frank Kohler, 50.

Vishnu Pandit, 61.

Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46.

Read more about the victims here. 

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will lay a wreath Tuesday morning at the U.S. Navy Memorial to honor victims of Monday’s Navy Yard shooting.

The wreath will be placed adjacent to “The Lone Sailor,” which represents “all people who have ever served, are serving now, or are yet to serve in the United States Navy,” according to a news release.

The wreath laying will take place at 10 a.m. at the memorial, located at 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

After postponing their Monday night game in the aftermath of the Navy Yard shootings, the Washington Nationals will face off against the Atlanta Braves twice on Tuesday — a makeup game at 1:05 p.m. and the regularly scheduled game at 7:05 p.m.

“All of us here in the Nationals organization were deeply saddened to learn of the tragic events that occurred this morning only a few blocks from Nationals Park,” the Nationals said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.”

Outfielder Bryce Harper took to Twitter to express a similar thought: “Thoughts & prayers go out to the victims and responders at the Navy Yard! It is absolute sickening that people do this! #NavyYardShooting“.

All streets and bridges that were closed in the wake of the shootings at the Navy Yard have reopened, according to the District Department of Transportation.

ALERT – All streets near the Navy Yard and bridges are open and back to normal for morning commuters.

— DDOT DC (@DDOTDC) September 17, 2013

Access to the Washington Navy Yard will be restricted on Tuesday to mission essential personnel only as the FBI continues its investigation, according to officials. Offsite work and telecommuting is being strongly encouraged.

Additionally, only the 9th Street gate will be open for pedestrian traffic and no vehicles will be allowed onto the base.

“The Washington Navy Yard is an active crime scene,” Naval District Washington officials said in a Facebook post.