Accused DC shooter called police in RI after hearing voices

NEWPORT, R.I. (MyFoxBoston.com/AP) -- Accused Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis told police in Newport, R.I. that voices were talking to him through the walls of his hotel rooms and sending microwave vibrations into his body to prevent him from sleeping.

Newport police were called to a Marriott Hotel on Aug. 7 just before 6:30 a.m. on a harassment report. Once at the scene, they spoke with Alexis who told them he was in town working as a contractor for the Navy.

A police report states that Alexis told investigators he got into an argument with someone at the airport after a flight from Virginia to Rhode Island. Alexis was convinced the person then sent three people to follow him and keep him awake by speaking to him and sending vibrations through his body.

Alexis switched to the Marriott from a Residence Inn in Middletown, R.I. after initially hearing voices through the walls. He originally switched to a hotel on the Navy base before checking into the Marriott, claiming the three people followed him.

Investigators said Alexis would not tell them what the voices were saying, but told them he was worried they were going to harm him. He also told police he "never felt anything like this" and that he did not have a history of mental illness.

The former Navy reservist was told to call police if he thought the individuals were following him.

According to the police report, Newport police notified Naval Station Police about the incident and sent them a copy of the police report.

A source told FOX 25's Ted Daniel that Alexis was contracted to update computers at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center at the Newport Navy base. The source said Alexis wore a "visitors" badge that allowed him access to the areas where he worked.

Alexis is accused of killing 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard. The 34-year-old information technology employee with a defense contractor used a valid pass to get into the highly secured installation Monday morning and started firing inside a building, the FBI said. He was killed in a gun battle with police.

The motive for the mass shooting — the deadliest on a military installation in the U.S. since the attack at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 — was a mystery, investigators said..

Alexis had been undergoing treatment since August by Veterans Affairs, but was not stripped of his security clearance, officials said Tuesday. The 43-year-old had a host of mental problems, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, an anonymous official told the Associated Press.

The Navy did not declare Alexis mentally unfit, which would have rescinded a security clearance he had from his earlier time in the Navy Reserve.

U.S. law enforcement officials said that there was no known connection to terrorism and that investigators have found no manifesto or other writings suggesting a political or religious motive.

The assault is likely to raise more questions about the adequacy of the background checks done on contract employees and others who are issued security clearances — an issue that came up most recently with National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, an IT employee with a government contractor.

In the hours after the Navy Yard attack, a profile of Alexis began coming into focus.

A Buddhist convert who had also had flare-ups of rage, Alexis, a black man who grew up in New York City and whose last known address was in Fort Worth, Texas, complained about the Navy and being a victim of discrimination. He also had run-ins with the law over shootings in 2004 and 2010 in Texas and Seattle, and was ticketed for disorderly conduct after being thrown out of a metro Atlanta nightclub in 2008.

Alexis' bouts of insubordination, disorderly conduct and being absent from work without authorization prompted the Navy to grant him an early — but honorable — discharge in 2011 after nearly four years as a full-time reservist, authorities said. During his service, he repaired aircraft electrical systems at Fort Worth.

In addition to those killed at the Navy Yard attack, eight people were hurt, including three who were shot and wounded, authorities said. Those three were a police officer and two female civilians. They were all expected to survive.

The dead ranged in age from 46 to 73, officials said. A number of the victims were civilian employees and contractors, rather than active-duty military personnel.

Those killed included: Michael Arnold, 59, a Navy veteran and avid pilot who was building a light airplane at his home; Sylvia Frasier, 53, who worked in computer security; Kathleen Gaarde, 63, a financial analyst; and Frank Kohler, 50, a former president of the Rotary Club in Lexington Park, Md., who proudly reigned as "King Oyster" at the region's annual seafood festival.

Monday's onslaught at a single building at the Navy Yard unfolded about 8:20 a.m. in the heart of the nation's capital, less than four miles from the White House and two miles from the Capitol. It put all of Washington on edge.

"This is a horrific tragedy," Mayor Vincent Gray said.

Law enforcement officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the AP on Monday that the gunman carried an AR-15 assault rifle. On Tuesday, they said he used a shotgun plus two handguns that he took from law officers at the scene. They said he did not actually use the AR-15, which was found at the scene.

An attorney representing Sharpshooters Small Arms Range announced via e-mail Tuesday Alexis visited the gun store two days before the rampage. Michael Slocum says Alexis rented a rifle and bought bullets before buying a shotgun and 24 shells Saturday.

For much of the day Monday, authorities said they were looking for a possible second attacker who may have been disguised in an olive-drab military-style uniform. But by late Monday night, they said they were convinced the shooting was the work of a lone gunman, and the lockdown around the area was eased.

"We do now feel comfortable that we have the single and sole person responsible for the loss of life inside the base today," Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

President Barack Obama lamented yet another mass shooting in the U.S. that he said took the lives of American "patriots." He promised to make sure "whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible."

The FBI took charge of the investigation.

To read more: wpri.com

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