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Reagan National Airport Shuts Down After Shooting Spree At Navy Yard
 
By Jim Douglas
 

September 16, 2013 - The Federal Aviation Administration suspended departures at Reagan National Airport (DCA) this morning in order to allow law enforcement aircraft to respond to a shooting spree at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. 

At least 12 people were killed and several others were wounded after a gunman dressed in olive-drab military-style uniform that has been identified as Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas went on a shooting spree just after 8:00 AM, in the shipyard’s 2.2 million square foot complex in which 16,000 military and civilian employees work. 

The FAA implemented a ground stop for aircraft bound for DCA, but accepted arriving aircraft that was already in the air. Departures resumed just after 10 AM. The FAA lifted the ground stop and resumed normal operations. 

The FBI has reported Alexis was killed during a gunfire exchange with the police. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Alexis was a Navy contractor “at one point” since his discharge from the Navy in 2011. 

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said, “There’s no sign that today’s shooting has a terrorist connection. We don’t have any known motive at this juncture. We have no information that would suggest that’s the case at this point.” 

President Barack Obama called this act by the gunmen a “cowardly act.” Obama said the rampage had targeted patriots, military and civilian alike, “men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us.”

 
 

 

The Coast Guard had established a temporary safety and security zone around the port which limited all navigation on the Anacostia River from Haines Point to the John Philip Sousa Bridge. "This zone is necessary to safeguard persons and property from events unfolding at the Washington Navy Yard," said Lt. Cmdr. Richard Armstrong, the chief of Incident Management at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those persons and families involved in today's incident."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), an advocate for smarter gun legislation is calling on Congress to take gun control after the shooting at the Navy Yard. “I mourn those killed today at the Navy Yard in Washington and send my thoughts and prayers to those families grieving the loss of loved ones. There are reports the killer was armed with an AR-15, a shotgun and a semiautomatic pistol when he stormed an American military installation in the nation’s capital and took at least 12 innocent lives. This is one more event to add to the litany of massacres that occur when a deranged person or grievance killer is able to obtain multiple weapons including a military-style assault rifle and kill many people in a short amount of time. When will enough be enough?" 

The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) which was a shipyard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U.S. Navy, home to the Chief of Naval Operations, and is headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Historical Center, the Department of Naval History, the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, Naval Reactors, Marine Corps Institute, the United States Navy Band, and other more classified facilities.
 
 
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