Navy Yard gunman believed he was being 'chased by people sending vibrations to his body via a microwave machine' and claimed he was 'heart-broken after Thai girlfriend dumped him'

Aaron Alexis, the Washington Navy Yard shooter, carved bizarre phrases referencing microwave communication into the shotgun he used to kill 12 people on Monday morning as they arrived for work - as his mother made an emotional public apology for her son's murderous actions.

Officials with knowledge of the investigation revealed that Alexis, 34, had etched 'Better off this way' and 'My ELF weapon' into the stock of his Remington 870-Express-Tactical shotgun.

While officials said they can't be sure what he meant, they said that ELF usually stands for 'extremely low frequency' and can be used to refer to the weather, or communications.

This is significant to investigators because of yesterday's revelation that Alexis made a disturbed report to Rhode Island police on August 7th, in which he alleged three people were following him and were using a 'microwave machine' to send vibrations through his body and keep him awake in his hotel room.

Scroll down for video

Sympathies: Bishop Gerald Seabrooks shows a statement made by Cathleen Alexis, mother of Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis, in New York's Brooklyn borough on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013

 

Protective: Bishops Gerald Seabrooks, (right and in front of podium), and Willie Billips bring groceries and speak to the media at the home of Cathleen Alexis, mother of Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis, in Brooklyn

The law enforcement officials said they do not know if he was referring to those vibrations in his carvings.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, New York, the  mother of Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis made an emotional public statement  this morning to apologize to his victims and express her own frustration and relief that he can no longer harm anyone.

Cathleen Alexis appeared in front of a lone CNN reporter in New York only to read a brief statement in which she said, 'I don't know why he did what he did, and I'll never be able to ask him why.'

She took no questions and afterwards local religious leader, Bishop Gerald Seabrooks appeared outside her Brooklyn home to speak to the media and present a copy of the statement.

Still raw two days after her son gunned down 12 people in cold blood, Cathleen Alexis added, 'To the families of the victims, I am so, so very sorry that this has happened. My heart is broken.'

'His actions have had a profound and everlasting effect on the families of the victims,' she said outside her home in Brooklyn.

This is the first time that Cathleen Alexis has spoken to the media since her son entered Building 197 of Washington D.C.'s Naval Yards on Monday morning and opened fire with a shotgun.

Twelve innocent office workers aged from their 40s to their 70s were killed and another eight were seriously injured.

Alexis, 34, a former U.S. Navy reservist who was working as a defense contractor was reportedly suffering from severe mental illness prior to the shocking attack.

LISTEN TO MOTHER BELOW

Home: Law enforcement officers stand in the street outside of the Brooklyn home of Cathleen Alexis, mother of Aaron Alexis in New York, September 16, 2013

Watch: Policemen stand guard outside the home of Cathleen Alexis, the mother of Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis, on September 17, 2013 in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn

Anthony Little, who is married to Alexis' sister Naomi, 31, was pictured outside the Brooklyn residence of the suspected gunman's mother, Cathleen Alexis on Monday evening.  He said: 'The family are distraught, they're shocked.'

However, despite allegedly being treated by the Veterans Administration in August for paranoia and possible schizophrenia, Alexis was still in possession of a 'secret' level security pass for the base and entered with a disassembled shotgun in a bag.

And earlier on Wednesday, a woman who Alexis spent time with in Thailand on a 45 day vacation during which he frequented prostitutes and massage parlors said that he was crazy 'in a positive way'.

Scene: Aerial view of the navy yard in Washington DC, where gunman Aaron Alexis, 34, shot dead twelve people on 16th September, 2013

However, she added that she was totally stunned and shocked to hear that he was responsible for the deaths of 12 people during his gun rampage which ended when SWAT and FBI response teams shot him dead.

Gunman: According to NBC Washington, this man Aaron Alexis, 34, from Fort Worth, Texas is the Navy Yard shooter. A background check has revealed that this is the police mugshot for Alexis who was arrested but not charged for firing a gun in his apartment in 2010

Om Suthamtewakul, who is the sister of Nutpisit Suthamtewaku the owner of the Happy Bowl Thai restaurant in White Settlement, Texas, and friend of Alexis said that he showed no signs of anger during a month and a half that he stayed with her.

'So I can’t really believe how he can shoot those people,' she said in Thai to an NBC News reporter.

'He looked kind of like, you know, bonkers, crazy, in a positive way, like funny, but, so I really can’t believe this.'

According to Suthamtewakul, Alexis liked Thailand, “loved Thai woman” and wanted to go back.

She told NBC News that she and Alexis went on outings in Bangkok and that they went to massage parlors in the evening.

'I wait and then we go home. Go to bed. This is like a routine, what we did,' she said.

She said that she never saw him show cruelty.

Authorities in Washington D.C. said that they were still examining any motive for the attack they could find.

However, since New York native Alexis carried out the massacre at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command, his troubled mental history has been emerging.

Indeed, just over a month ago police in Newport, Rhode Island, Alexis called police to his room and said that he had changed hotels three times that night because three people were chasing him and keeping him awake by sending microwave vibrations through the walls of his room.

Stunned: Nutpisit Suthamtewakul at the Happy Bowl, on Tuesday (left) along with Micheal Ritrovato (right) on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in White Settlement, Texas

He believed people were following him, using a microwave machine to send vibrations to his body. He changed hotels once, then again. But he called police and told them he couldn't get away from the voices.

On August 7th, police alerted officials at the Newport Naval Station about the naval defense contractor's call. But officers didn't hear from him again.

By August 25th, Alexis had left the state.

The 34-year-old arrived in the Washington area, continuing his work as an information technology employee for a defense-related computer company.

Again, he spent nights in different hotels. He suffered from serious mental problems, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, and was undergoing treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the law enforcement officials.

But Alexis wasn't stripped of his security clearance, and he kept working.

On Saturday, he visited Sharpshooters Small Arms Range in Lorton, Virginia, about 18 miles southwest of the nation's capital. He rented a rifle, bought bullets and took target practice at the 16-lane indoor range, then bought a shotgun and 24 shells, according to the store's attorney.

Fateful Purchase: Sharpshooters Small Arms Range sold Aaron Alexis a Remington shotgun capable of firing six shells without reloading

Deadly: Circled is the Remington shotgun model that Aaron Alexis used to murder 12 people in cold blood at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning

 

Weapons Rack: Guns sold at Sharpshooters Small Arms Range in Virginia are on display

Two days later, as the workweek dawned, Alexis entered the sprawling Washington Navy Yard, a 41-acre labyrinth of buildings protected by armed guards and metal detectors where employees must show IDs to get past doors and gates. Authorities believe he drove a rental car there.

He was equipped with his pass for base access - and the shotgun. Within minutes, it would create mayhem.

He stepped inside the massive Building 197, home to some 3,000 employees. He opened fire around 8:15 a.m., raining shotgun blasts down from a fourth-floor overlook and third-floor hallway into a glass-walled cafeteria where employees were eating breakfast.

Trained tactical officers arrived, bursting through the building within seven minutes of the first 911 call, and Alexis shot at them, too.

Fire alarms blared, and officers had a hard time hearing one another. A voice came on the overhead speaker telling workers to seek shelter - and later, to head for the gates at the complex.

A U.S. Park Police helicopter flew overhead, plucking a wounded woman from the roof with a rescue basket while a crew member armed with a rifle provided cover.

We have a report on the fourth floor, a male with a shotgun, multiple shots fired, multiple people down. We're still waiting for the OK that the scene has been secured," an ambulance crew member says on emergency transmissions posted on Broadcastify.com, a source of live public safety audio feeds.

More dispatches followed: Shooter known to be in the main gate area. Officer down on the third floor. Female on the roof, shot in the shoulder.

Frantic Search: Emergency responders arrive at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, where 12 people were killed and eight injured on Monday

Escape: Employees at the naval yard run from the building with their hands in the air following the shooting

Once inside, Alexis picked a handgun off an officer and, armed with two weapons, terrorized the building's occupants.

He fired relentlessly not only at police who engaged him but at the workers inside: a 61-year-old marine engineer and grandfather who immigrated to the U.S. years ago from India, a Navy veteran and avid pilot who had once been stationed at Pearl Harbor, a die-hard Washington Redskins fan known for generous bear hugs.

A Washington police officer was shot multiple times in the legs but survived.

'We just started running,' said Patricia Ward, who was in the cafeteria when the shooting began. She said she heard three gunshots in a row, followed by several more.

On Wednesday, Alexis' mother read a brief statement inside her New York home, her voice shaking. She did not want to appear on camera and did not take questions from a reporter.

'I don't know why he did what he did and I'll never be able to ask him why. Aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone, and for that I am glad,' Cathleen Alexis said.

'To the families of the victims, I am so so very sorry that this has happened. My heart is broken.'

Descriptions from witnesses and police paint a portrait of harrowing gun battles inside - all for more than half an hour.

The FBI, which launched a nationwide active shooter training program for local law enforcement after last December's Connecticut elementary school massacre, says the average mass shooting is over within minutes and often ends once police arrive.

But this gun battle kept going. As the chaos unraveled inside, police in the nation's capital shut down the surrounding area.

Tragic shooting: The Medical Examiner wheels a body on a gurney out of the emergency room at George Washington University Hospital shortly after it was announced that the first victim of the shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington had died

Nearby schools went on lockdown, flights were halted at Reagan National Airport, and even after Alexis was mortally wounded by a police officer, officers chased leads that a second and possibly a third gunman had been working with him.

Twelve victims died - a body count that police say could have been much higher, even after they determined that the gunman had worked alone. Eight were injured, with all expected to survive.

The Navy said several garages and all surface parking lots at the Washington Navy Yard would open Wednesday for employees to retrieve their private vehicles.

But the military installation would reopen for business for Mission Essential personnel only. In a posting on its Facebook page, the Navy said the yard remains an active crime scene.

Access to Building 197, the site of Monday's shooting, was prohibited.

More than 24 hours after the shooting, the motive remained a mystery. U.S. law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that investigators had found no manifesto or other writings suggesting a political or religious motivation.

Ron Machen, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, ticked off some of the unanswered questions Tuesday.

'What caused this individual to kill so many innocent men and women? How did he carry out and plan this attack? How did he get access to the weapons? What could have been done to prevent this tragedy? And most importantly, whether anyone else aided or assisted him either wittingly or unwittingly in this tragedy?'

Machen added, 'We're not going to stop until we get answers to those questions.'

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

13 people DEAD and 15 injured as 34 Y-O gunman caused rampage in Washington Navy Yard. He was a decorated petty officer discharged for misconduct in 2011 after gun charge

• Aaron Alexis, 34, the heavily armed gunman who killed 12 people and injured eight at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington D.C. – suffered a host of mental illnesses
• Visited Thailand in March 2012 and was left devastated when a girl declined to come back to the U.S. and live with him
• Reportedly 'heard voices' coming from his hotel closet last month while staying in Newport, Rhode Island
• Friends reported that Alexis was a heavy drinker and played mammoth sessions of violent video games
  
• Had 'secret' clearance and was assigned to start working there as a civilian contractor with a military-issued ID card
• Reports claim that he had packed a dismantled shotgun in his bag and went through security
  
• Alexis served in the U.S. Navy for almost four years before he was given an honorable discharge in January 2011
  
• Alexis was cited on at least eight occasions for misconduct, according to a Navy official

Washington Naval Yard gunman Aaron Alexis exhibited signs of severe mental illness just six weeks before he embarked on Monday's shooting rampage which claimed the lives of 12 innocent office workers, according to police in Rhode Island.

The former Navy reservist called police to his hotel room in Newport, on August 7th suffering from severe hallucinations and told them voices were speaking to him 'through the wall, flooring and ceiling' and that three people were following him and keeping 'him awake by talking to him and sending vibrations to his body' through a microwave machine.

When officers arrived at 6 a.m. that morning, he told them he had moved to three separate hotels that night in an effort to elude the microwave vibrations and that he had become involved in an argument with the unidentified individuals at the airport who were now following him.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS

Thai Vacation: Washington Naval Yard gunman Aaron Alexis on holiday in Thailand last year (The identity of the woman with the blurred face is not known)

Telling police that he was being pursued by two black men and a black woman, Alexis also told police officers that he 'had never felt anything like this before,' and that 'he was worried these people were going to harm him,' said Lt. William Fitzgerald of the Newport Police.

Speaking to the New York Times, Lt. Fitzgerald said Alexis told him he had no history of mental illness and all police could do was to tell him to stay away from anyone he suspected of following him.

Gunman: According to NBC Washington, this man Aaron Alexis, 34, from Fort Worth, Texas is the Navy Yard shooter. A background check has revealed that this is the police mugshot for Alexis who was arrested but not charged for firing a gun in his apartment in 2010

However, with reports claiming that Alexis had suffered symptoms of mental illness for almost a decade, a picture is forming which casts serious doubts on whether he should have been licensed to purchase firearms or indeed be granted 'secret' security access through his work as a Naval contractor.

Earlier on Tuesday, anonymous law enforcement officials said that Alexis sought treatment from the Veterans Administration in August for paranoia, insomnia and possible schizophrenia and a New York Times report claims that he had suffered mental issues since his early 20s.

The new revelations regarding his treatment and the Rhode Island episode are significant because despite his psychiatric problems, the Navy did not declare him mentally unfit which would have rescinded his security clearance and impacted his ability to purchase firearms.

Prior to this, Alexis visited Thailand in 2012 where he spent his time frequenting massage parlors and was crushed when a girl he liked rejected his offer to come and live with him in the United States because the woman 'didn't like black people.'

Indeed, such was Alexis' fascination with Thai culture, Buddhism and Thai people that he traveled to the south east Asian country in March and April of 2012.

Collecting guns: Alexis reportedly brought only one gun with him to the Navy Yard and procured two others during the shooting spree

According to the UK's Channel 4 News, he spent 45 days in the country and was shown around by Parin Suthamtewakul, a relative of Nutpisit Suthamtewaku.

Alexis worked at Nutpisit's Happy Bowl Thai restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas for a time earlier this year and lived with the owner and his wife.

He was escorted to a number of tourist centers in Korat, the north east of Thailand and a beach resort called Hua Hin.

There he celebrated the Thai new year festival of Songkran, which celebrates water and Alexis is seen in the above picture obtained exclusively by Channel 4 News brandishing a water-gun.

However, instead of exploring his Buddhist faith, Alexis spent his time frequenting massage parlors and even developed a crush on a Thai girl.

The former Navy reservist was upset however when she rejected his offer to come back and live with him in the United States.

Channel 4 also learned from Nutpisit that Alexis also complained of racial discrimination at the hands of his countrymen - suggesting a deep-rooted alienation.

Revealed: These undated photos show Aaron Alexis. Officials say Alexis, an information technology employee with a defense contractor, used a valid pass to get into the Washington Navy Yard building where he opened fire killing 12 people

'He didn't have any American friends,' said Nutpisit Suthamtewakul. 'His only friends were Thais because they were nice to him.'

Suthamtewakul added that Alexis was 'good at shooting and really interested in guns' and 'owned one gun'.

The Happy Bowl owner said that Alexis had moved out of his home around May after there was tension with Mr Suthamtewakul's wife over their pet cats.

He said he had not heard from Alexis in the weeks before the shooting and had believed he was flying to Japan as part of his government contractor job.

Ty Thairintr, a congregant at Wat Budsaya, a Buddhist temple in Fort Worth which Alexis would attend, said: 'We are all shocked. We are nonviolent. Aaron was a very good practitioner of Buddhism. He could chant better than even some of the Thai congregants.'

Thairintr said Alexis told him he was upset with the Navy because 'he thought he never got a promotion because of the color of his skin. He hated his commander'.

Indeed, Alexis had 'secret' clearance and was assigned to start working at the naval yard as a civilian contractor with a military-issued ID card, his contracting firm's chief executive Thomas Hoshko said today.

Unassuming: The media wait outside Happy Bowl Asian Restaurant where Aaron Alexis, 34, the suspected shooter who was among 13 people killed in the shooting at Washington Navy Yard, was previously employed, in White Settlement, Texas

Stunned: Nutpisit Suthamtewakul at the Happy Bowl, on Tuesday (left) along with Micheal Ritrovato (right) on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013, in White Settlement, Texas

Refreshed: A photo of Aaron Alexis, 34, the suspected shooter who was among 13 people killed in the shooting at Washington Navy Yard, is displayed on the phone of Oui Suthamtewakul owner of the Happy Bowl Asian Restaurant

Hoshko said he was unaware of any issues with misconduct involving Alexis or any possible grievance that could have led to the shooting.

Alexis had previously worked for The Experts in Japan from September 2012 to January 2013, he said.

'We had just recently re-hired him. Another background investigation was re-run and cleared through the defense security service in July 2013,' Hoshko said.

Hoshko said he believed that Alexis' 'secret' security clearance dated back to 2007.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One gunman dead but 2 more could still be at large after 6 are killed and 12 are injured in Washington Navy Yard rampage: Desperate hunt for possible shooters dressed in military fatigues

Gunman: According to NBC Washington, this man Aaron Alexis, 34, from Fort Worth, Texas is the Navy Yard shooter. A background check has revealed that this is the police mugshot for Alexis who was arrested but not charged for firing a gun in his apartment in 2010

Alexis had joined the Navy in 2007 but was kicked out in 2011 following a gun arrest.

He was a Petty Officer Third Class in the Navy. Alexis was awarded the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal prior to his discharge.

Alexis was stationed at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth. His LinkedIn profile reveals that he attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and worked as a network technician at SinglePoint Technologies.

NBC5 today said that the suspect was arrested in 2010 for firing a gun through the ceiling of his Forth Worth apartment.

His neighbor called the police after the bullet came through her floor and hit the ceiling.

Shooter: The FBI released this picture of the 34-year-old gunman today

According to The Smoking Gun, the woman, who would not identify herself, said that she was 'terrifiied' after he had spoken to her about making too much noise.

She believed that the shooting was intentional.

Police arrested him but Alexis claimed he had been cleaning the gun when his hand slipped.

He said that he did not check on his neighbor as he did not think that the bullet had gone through the ceiling. He was not charged.

A background check on Aaron Alexis, reveals he had several addresses in Forth Worth after moving there from New York.

A friend told the Star-Telegram today that Alexis was into Buddhism and meditation.

Nutpisit Suthamtewakul, owner of family restaurantc, said he lived with Alexis for three years and that he was his best friend. 

He said today that although his friend did have a gun, he 'didn't seem aggressive' but was interested in Buddhism and liked to meditate.

Suthamtewakul added: 'He loved to go to temple, go to meditate in Thai and English.'

He attended the Wat Busayadhammavanaram Meditation Center, but an assistant told the Post he seemed quiet but 'aggressive' on the inside and very tightly wound.

The 34-year-old had recently taken a trip to Thailand and held an IT job in Japan. Alexis had been teaching himself Thai.

Alexis told customers while working at Happy Bowl that he had moved to Fort Worth while working with the military and decided to stay on.

One said that he had seem liked he had been in the military by the way her carried himself but never talked about violence or guns.

Alexis was evicted from the The Orion at Oak Hill apartments building in Fort Worth shortly after the shooting incident in 2010.

His latest landlord Somsak Srisan said that he had never seen his 34-year-old tenant get angry about anything.

Nutpisit Suthamtewakul, owner of Happy Bowl Thai in Fort Worth said he lived with Alexis for three years and his best friend 'didn't seem aggressive' but liked to meditate

The FBI has identified the suspected gunman who died in Monday's Washington Navy Yard shooting as Aaron Alexis

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Breaking News: At Least TEN Shot At Washington NavyYard By Gunman Armed With AR15 Rifle And He's Still On The Loose

• At least one gunman opened fire this  morning at the Washington Naval Yards in Washington D.C.
• U.S. Navy  confirms six people dead and 12 injured in the mass shooting
• One suspect is dead identified as a  'former Navy official in his fifties'
• Police and  FBI in the capital have said that there could be two other gunmen dressed in  military fatigues on the loose
• Search on  for a gunman described as being six-foot tall, African-American and brandishing  a long gun
• Another  suspect described as white and wearing a beret and carrying a  handgun
• Special ATF  team that dealt with the Boston bombings in April sent to shooting  site
• One  fatality is a Washington D.C. police officer and another is a security officer  at the base
• Two women  have also reportedly lost their lives in the shooting
• One victim  was airlifted from the naval base by helicopter
• All of the people wounded are in critical condition, authorities said
• President Obama: 'Today  they faced the unimaginable violence they wouldn't have expected at  home.'

Terror visited Washington D.C. this morning  as at least one gunman opened fire inside a building at the Washington Navy Yard  killing six people and injuring at least 12.

Police were  looking for two other potential  gunmen wearing military-style uniforms,  including one who had on a  beret, chief Cathy Lanier said. 

One had a long  gun and the other was  also armed, she said. One of the three gunmen had died,  though Lanier  didn't say how.

Witnesses reported one man described as an  African-American male in his 50s dressed in military fatigues and armed with an  AR-15 assault rifle opening fire upon entering the base at the Naval Sea System  Command HQ.

One gunman has been killed, though it wasn't  immediately clear how, according to a Defense Department  official and federal  law enforcement official who spoke on condition of  anonymity because they were  not authorized to discuss the matter  publicly.

Two other officials have said police were  looking into the  possibility of a second and third shooter.

The attacks came three days  after al-Qaeda used the 12th anniversary of 9/11 to call for strikes on  America.

Hundreds of SWAT and FBI  rapid response units descended on the nation's capital to deal with the  situation which unfolded just before 8.30 a.m. this morning.

Scroll Down for Video

Escape: Employees at the naval yard run from the  building with their hands in the air following the shooting

 

Injured: This image shows members of the public working  to help a victim of a gunshot wound in Washington D.C. at the city's Navy Yard  this morning

Wounded: Bystanders rush to help a stricken individual  who was reportedly shot this morning by a lone gunman at the Washington Naval  Yard in the nation's capital

Officers wearing bullet-proof vest and carrying  automatic weapons surround the naval base this morning

Armed police prepare to enter the Washington Navy Yard  as they respond to a shooting in Washington, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. At least  one gunman opened fire inside a building at the Navy yard

 

On the move: The naval base descended into chaos this  morning after shots were fired around 8.20am

VIDEO

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scroll Down for Video

Injured: This image shows members of the public working to help a victim of a gunshot wound in Washington D.C. at the city's Navy Yard this morning

Police have reported that three gunmen, including one wearing camouflage, have shot dead four people - including two police officers - and injured another eight this morning at the Washington Naval Yard.

Police have said that at least one of the gunmen, who are said to be armed with AR-15 rifles, has been taken 'down', however it is not clear if he has been arrested or shot.

Two gunmen remain at large and police have said that one of the shooters has been pinned down between the third and fourth floors in a room on the grounds of the naval yard, although this has not been confirmed.

One of the gunmen is not accounted for and hundreds of police, SWAT and FBI rapid response units have descended on the nation's capital to deal with the situation.

 

In addition the spokesman added that all of the people wounded are in critical condition and have been rushed to nearby hospitals

Wounded: Bystanders rush to help a stricken individual who was reportedly shot this morning by a lone gunman at the Washington Naval Yard in the nation's capital

Police are looking for a shooter in a military building near 8th and M Street SE in Washington D.C.

DC Fire EMS units are on the scene. Fire officials say there are victims, but there is no confirmation of numbers yet

Armed: Police respond to the report of a shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, September 16, 2013. A gunman shot and wounded at least one person Monday in a headquarters building at the US Navy Yard in Washington

 

Police respond to the report of a shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, September 16, 2013. A gunman shot and wounded at least one person Monday in a headquarters building at the US Navy Yard in Washington and is still at large

 

Initial reports from the scene are that the suspect walked up to the facility, opened fire  and then ran inside the building.

Authorities say a base police officer also was seriously injured.

One victim was reported to have been shot on the roof of a building, reported News4's Tony Tull.

A U.S. Park Police helicopter lowered a basket to a building and lifted what appeared to be a shooting victim from the roof just before 10 a.m.

SWAT officers, military police, U.S. Capitol police and Washington city police all rushed to respond.

The Capitol police said they were stepping up security on the Capitol grounds and the White House.

Washington police told WRC that nearby schools were being locked down, and that some bridges were being closed as a precautionary measure.

Emergency personnel are on scene and a 'shelter in place' order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel.

Authorities are searching for a black male, believed to be nearly six feet tall, wearing a black shirt and black hat, WUSA 9 News in D.C. reported.

President Obama has been briefed about the shooting, according to a statement from the White House.

'The President directed his team to stay in touch with our federal partners, including the Navy and FBI, as well as the local officials,' the statement said.

'We urge citizens to listen to the authorities and follow directions from the first responders on site.'

Scene video: At least ten shot at Washington Navy Yard

Capital Attack: The Washington Naval Yard in relation to the Capitol Building and the White House - both buildings have had their security increased in the light of the shootings

Search: A police helicopter flies overhead as police walk on the roof of a building as they respond to a shooting at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington September 16, 2013

Two DC Metro Police officers put their gear up as they respond to a reported shooting at an entrance to the Washington Navy Yard September 16, 2013 in Washington, DC

Reaction: Police work the scene on M Street, SE in Washington near the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. The U.S. Navy says one person is injured after a shooting at a Navy building in Washington

Lockdown: Washington D.C. police are looking for a suspect they say shot at least three people at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning

Rapid Response: According to a Washington D.C. police spokesmam, there is an 'active shooter' on the grounds of the Navy Yard in Southeast Washington

Attack: Initial reports suggest that the gunman is acting alone and is armed with a rifle

Shooting: The Main Gate into the Washington Navy Yard lies at the juncture of the Eighth Street axis and M Street in Southeast Washington

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) is the largest of the Navy's five system commands. With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navy's entire budget.

The Navy Yard is along the Anacostia River in Washington, near the headquarters of the Department of Transportation and the Washington Nationals baseball stadium.