Washington Navy Yard workers back at work as investigation continues

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Washington DC Navy Yard reopens to workers

Navy Yard shooting suspects mother speaks out

Questions about shooting suspects security clearance

New information about deadly Washington DC shooting

Investigation continues into deadly DC shooting

DC Navy Yard shooting motive still unclear

13 dead, including gunman in DC Navy yard shooting

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Eyewitness News

WASHINGTON (WABC) -- Workers returned to the Washington Navy Yard Thursday, three days after the shocking shooting spree that killed 12 of their friends and colleagues.

Now, the Navy is launching an intense investigation into how warning signs were missed about alleged gunman Aaron Alexis.

"There were a lot of red flags," Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said. "(Why they weren't picked up) are all legitimate questions that we're going to be dealing with."

Meanwhile, police in Rhode Island alerted the Newport Naval Station that Alexis told them a bizarre story about hearing voices and microwave machines keeping him up at night. But the Navy says the information was never passed up the chain of command, and Alexis kept his job as a civilian contractor.

"If someone is in a position where they have access to information and facilities because of their clearances, a mental health issue or problem can be extremely serious," FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole said.

ABC News has learned that Alexis carved the words "better off this way" and my "ELF weapon" on the stock of his Remington 870 shotgun. Investigators are examining the meaning of the phrases.

Alexis' mother, who asked not to be shown on camera, apologized for her son's actions.

"I am so, so very sorry that this has happened," Cathleen Alexis said in an audio statement. "My heart is broken."

Just a few blocks from the Navy Yard, on Capitol Hill, relatives of victims from previous mass shootings pleaded for new gun legislation.

"I don't want another family to go through what I'm going through right now," said Carlos Soto, whose brother was killed in the Newtown school shooting.

Sandy Phillips lost her son in the Aurora movie theater shooting.

"We will not give up," she said. "We will not go away. We are here forever."

As a result of the shooting, Hagel has ordered reviews of military security and employee screening programs.

The identities of the victims have been confirmed. They are:

59-year-old Michael Arnold

53-year-old Sylvia Fraiser

62-year-old Kathy Gaarde

73-year-old John Roger Johnson

50-year-old Frank Kohler

46-year-old Kenneth Bernard Proctor

61-year-old Vishnu Pandit

54-year-old Martin Bodrog