The dead gunman in Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard is Aaron Alexis, 34, a native of Brooklyn who lived until recently in Texas, according to law enforcement sources.
Police say it is unclear if Alexis acted alone. Authorities are still searching for another possible suspect: a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns, wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform.
Alexis apparently died at the scene of Monday’s shooting, in which at least 11 other people died. D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said no motive is known.
Alexis lived in Seattle and in Fort Worth, Texas, according to public records. He appears to have served in the Navy, but it is unclear whether he was still on active duty.
Police are investigating whether the identification of former Navy petty officer Rollie Chance was used by Alexis to enter the Navy Yard compound. Federal investigators visited Chance’s home Monday.
A relative of Rollie Chance said in a telephone interview that Chance, from Stafford, Va., was not at the Navy Yard and was neither a witness nor a suspect and asked the media to leave the family alone.
Meanwhile, a relative of Alexis said she hadn’t seen him in several years.
“We haven’t seen him for years,” said Helen Weeks of her nephew in a telephone interview. “I know he was in the military. He served abroad. I think he was doing some kind of computer work.”
Weeks said she was receiving constant media calls Monday afternoon in which reporters asked her if she knew if Alexis had been involved in a shooting in Washington, D.C. She said she had not been contacted by police.
“I’d be shocked if it was him, but I don’t know,” her voice trailing off.
