Washington Navy Yard Shooting: DC marks 9-years since violent rampage left 12 dead

Washington Navy Yard security investigation

Hard lessons were learned about how the mentally ill gunman, Aaron Alexis obtained his security clearance and was able to enter this faculty while armed with a weapon.

WASHINGTON - Friday marks nine years since a deadly shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard sent shockwaves through the nation's capital.

The shooting that left 12 people dead happened on the morning of September 16, 2013 inside a building at the complex. The gunman was identified as Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old information technology contractor at a defense-related computer company.

The former Navy reservist had been undergoing mental health treatment prior to the shooting but had not been stripped of his security clearance, according the Associated Press.

He was armed with a shotgun and also took a handgun from a law enforcement officer during the massacre.

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In addition to those killed during the attack, eight people were hurt, including three who were shot and wounded. Those three were a police officer and two female civilians.

Alexis was killed by police in a shootout that lasted more than a half-hour.

Then President Barack Obama ordered flags at the White House and military facilities to be flown at half-staff. Just a few blocks from the Navy Yard, the Washington Nationals postponed their game that evening and observed a moment of silence the following day.

A remembrance area was dedicated to the victims of the shooting at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters at the Navy Yard in 2015.

In 2016, a D.C. Federal judge ruled that the victims' families could sue the contractors who hired the gunman.