Category: Mental Instability


Lobotomy

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Army Times

Dec. 11, 2013 – 08:37PM

The U.S. government lobotomized roughly 2,000 mentally ill veterans — and likely hundreds more — during and after World War II, according to a cache of forgotten memos, letters and government reports unearthed by The Wall Street Journal.

“They got the notion they were going to come to give me a lobotomy,” Roman Tritz, a World War II bomber pilot, told the newspaper in a report published Wednesday. “To hell with them.”

Tritz said the orderlies at the veterans hospital pinned him to the floor, and he initially fought them off. A few weeks later, just before his 30th birthday, he was lobotomized.

Besieged by psychologically damaged troops returning from the battlefields of North Africa, Europe and the Pacific, the Veterans Administration performed the brain-altering operation on former servicemen it diagnosed as depressives, psychotics and schizophrenics, and occasionally on people identified as homosexuals, according to the report.

The VA’s use of lobotomy, in which doctors severed connections between parts of the brain then thought to control emotions, was known in medical circles in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and is occasionally cited in medical texts. But the VA’s practice, never widely publicized, long ago slipped from public view. Even the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it possesses no records detailing the creation and breadth of its lobotomy program.

The Wall Street Journal’s reporting series began with Wednesday’s Forgotten Soldiers and included a documentary, archived photos, maps and medical records.

The Journal quoted the VA’s response to its inquiry: “In the late 1940s and into the 1950s, VA and other physicians throughout the United States and the world debated the utility of lobotomies. The procedure became available to severely ill patients who had not improved with other treatments. Within a few years, the procedure disappeared within VA, and across the United States, as safer and more effective treatments were developed.”

The newspaper reported that musty files warehoused in the National Archives show VA doctors resorting to brain surgery as they struggled with a vexing question that absorbs America to this day: How best to treat the psychological crises that afflict soldiers returning from combat.

Between April 1, 1947, and Sept. 30, 1950, VA doctors lobotomized 1,464 veterans at 50 hospitals authorized to perform the surgery, according to agency documents rediscovered by the Journal. Scores of records from 22 of those hospitals list another 466 lobotomies performed outside that time period, bringing the total documented operations to 1,930.

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The Lobotomy Files: Inside the Mind of Roman Tritz

WSJDigitalNetwork WSJDigitalNetwork

Published on Dec 12, 2013

Roman Tritz was one of thousands of WWll veterans who were lobotomized by the Veterans Administration. The nation forgot, but Mr. Tritz remembers. WSJ’s Michael M. Phillips reports. See the complete project at http://WSJ.com/LobotomyFiles.

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Lobotomy – PBS documentary on Walter Freeman

ting196 ting196

Uploaded on Jan 27, 2008

The Lobotomist, Walter J. Freeman

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lobotomi…

Click the links to learn more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_F…)

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A baggage handler arrested after dry ice bombs exploded at Los Angeles International Airport planted the devices as a prank, police said Wednesday.

The motive was disclosed a day after the arrest of Dicarlo Bennett, a 28-year-old employee for the ground handling company Servisair.

“I think we can safely say he is not a terrorist or an organized crime boss. He did this for his own amusement,” said Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Michael Downing, who heads the department’s counter-terrorism and special operations bureau.

No one was hurt on Sunday when two plastic bottles packed with dry ice exploded in an employee bathroom and on the airport’s tarmac. An unexploded device was found Monday night.

As a result of the incident, airport officials plan to meet with law enforcement authorities to examine potential security enhancements at one of the nation’s busiest airports.

The meeting also will explore the handling and transport of dry ice and other hazardous materials and possible improvements to those procedures.

Arif Alikhan, deputy executive director for Homeland Security and Law Enforcement at Los Angeles World Airports, said such meetings are routine after problems.

“We’ll look at all layers of security existing at the airport, including technology, physical infrastructure, the partnership of tenants, awareness of employees to potential hazardous items like dry ice,” Alikhan said.

Workers at the airport must pass a criminal background check before they can get a security badge for access to restricted areas, LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.

On Tuesday, police arrested Bennett, who was booked for possession of a destructive device near an aircraft and held on $1 million bail.

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‘She thought she was Prophet of Stamford and Obama was stalking her’: Dental hygienist shot dead after ramming her car into the White House ‘had been taking medication for schizophrenia’

  • Capitol Hill was placed in lockdown on Thursday after gunshots fired in downtown DC on Thursday
  • Her one-year-old daughter was in the car when her mother was shot and killed by police officers
  • 34-year-old has a history of mental illness
  • One of Carey’s five sisters is an NYPD cop
  • Mother said she suffered from postpartum depression after birth of daughter Erica
  • Miriam Carey had been sued by her Connecticut condominium association for failure to pay fees

By Louise Boyle, Rachel Quigley, James Nye and Michael Zennie

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The mother gunned down yesterday after ramming a White House barrier because she thought President Obama was stalking her was prescribed schizophrenia medication after telling police she was the ‘Prophet of Stamford’, it emerged today.

Miriam Carey, 34, was taken for a mental health evaluation after an encounter with Connecticut police almost a year ago, in which she claimed to be a prophet and said the President was going to place the city of Stamford under lockdown, according to CBS.

She also believed he had been electronically monitoring her Connecticut home in order to broadcast her life on television like in the movie The Truman Show.

Authorities did not alert the Secret Service about the mother-of-one as they had no evidence she had ever made any kind of threat against Obama.

ABC News reports that cops had twice in 2012 been called by Miriam Carey’s boyfriend, who reported the woman was delusional, acting irrationally and putting her infant daughter in danger.

 

Authorities said the single-mother had a 'history of mental illness' but did not elaborate.

Snapped: Authorities said the single-mother and dental hygienist had a ‘history of mental illness’ but did not elaborate

Miriam Carey is pictured at the Connecticut periodontist office where she worked. Her bosses described her as having 'a delightful bedside manner'

Miriam Carey is pictured at the Connecticut periodontist office where she worked. Her bosses described her as having ‘a delightful bedside manner’

Luxury Car: Police swarm around the Nissan Infiniti car on grass near the U.S. Capitol October 3, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

Luxury Car: Police swarm around the Nissan Infiniti car on grass near the U.S. Capitol October 3, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

Rescued: This is little Erica, the one-year-old daughter of Miriam Carey who was miraculously rescued safely from her mother's bullet-riddled car

Rescued: This is little Erica, the one-year-old daughter of Miriam Carey who was miraculously rescued safely from her mother’s bullet-riddled car

US CAPITOL SHOOTING: Moment police draw guns on driver

Last night her mother revealed the 34-year-old has suffered from postpartum depression since giving birth to her daughter Erica last year.

These revelations are the first clues as to what led a seemingly happy dental hygienist to snap and drive her Infiniti luxury sedan 270 miles from her home in suburban Stamford to Washington, DC – where her rampage put the nation’s capital on lock-down Thursday.

Carey’s 18-month-old daughter Erica – who was in the back seat – was not injured, despite the Secret Service and U.S. Capitol police firing up to 15 shots into her car.

Little Erica was rescued from the bullet-riddled car after her mother was shot dead. She is currently in the custody of child services workers.

Pictured: A neighbor has confirmed to MailOnline that this is Miriam Carey, the woman who is believed to have been shot dead by Capitol Police

Pictured: A neighbor has confirmed to MailOnline that this is Miriam Carey, the woman who is believed to have been shot dead by Capitol Police

It also emerged today that Carey’s friends said she was upbeat and ‘normal’ until she fell down some stairs and hit her head in April 2012.

When Carey was receiving treatment for the injury in the hospital, she learned that she was pregnant.

She received a handicapped parking permit because of the injury, but doctors from the medical suite where she worked complained that she was tying up parking in front of the building, according to CBS.

The resulting dispute from this ended with her losing her job.

It emerged today that Carey had beensued by her condominium association for failure to pay fees.

The complaint filed in November by the association for the Stamford building said Miriam Carey had failed to pay her fees in full since August 2010 and owed the association $1,759 in addition to collection costs.

The lawsuit was settled in February.

The lawsuit by the Woodside Green Association indicates Carey took out a mortgage on her Stamford condo in the amount of $237,616 in September 2009.

Idella Carey told ABC News that her daughter Miriam ‘had postpartum depression after having the baby’ in August 2012.

‘A few months later, she got sick. She was depressed…. She was hospitalized,’ Mrs Carey added.

She thought Carey was taking Erica to a doctor’s appointment in Connecticut.

The 34-year-old has five sisters, one of whom is an NYPD officer.

Another, Amy Carey – who is a nurse in Brooklyn – expressed disbelief when told about what happened to her sister by a Washington Post reporter.

‘That’s impossible. She works, she holds a job. She wouldn’t be in D.C. She was just in Connecticut two days ago,’ she said. ‘I spoke to her…I don’t know what’s happening. I can’t answer anymore.’

Dentist Barry Weiss told NBC Connecticut that Carey was working for him in January 2012 when she suffered a fall and missed two-to-three weeks of work.

When she returned she was pregnant but he later fired her in August 2012 after patients complained that she was too rough.

She was not married to the father but ‘seemed happy’ about the pregnancy, the former boss said.

Authorities said the single-mother had a ‘history of mental illness’ but did not elaborate.

Neighbor Erin Jackson told ABC she believed Carey lived in the Stamford home with the baby and the girl’s father.

Asked if she believed Carey suffered from a mental illness, Jackson said ‘absolutely’ and revealed she had her tires slashed in an incident last year in Connecticut.

Police, including FBI and bomb disposal units, surrounded a home in Stamford on Thursday evening that authorities say is linked to the investigation, but won’t give specifics.

Police there said they were awaiting a search warrant from Washington, though 50 people from the apartment building already were being evacuated for the night.


Stamford: Hazardous materials personal prepare to enter the apartment complex where Miriam Carey is believed to have lived in the early hours of this morning after a neighbor said the dental hygienist 'absolutely' was crazy

Stamford: Hazardous materials personal prepare to enter the apartment complex where Miriam Carey is believed to have lived in the early hours of this morning after a neighbor said the dental hygienist ‘absolutely’ was crazy

Aftermath: Capitol Hill police officers look at a car following a shooting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. A police officer was reported injured after gunshots at the U.S. Capitol Aftermath: Capitol Hill police officers look at a car following a shooting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013. A police officer was reported injured after gunshots at the U.S. Capitol

Impact: A veteran Capitol Police officer smashed his squad car into a barrier while rushing to the scene of the incident. He was not severely injured

Impact: A veteran Capitol Police officer smashed his squad car into a barrier while rushing to the scene of the incident. He was not severely injured

Run For Cover: Seen from the US Capitol, tourists flee as Capitol Police are seen outside of the Senate side of the Capitol Building on October 3, 2013 in Washington, DC Run For Cover: Seen from the US Capitol, tourists flee as Capitol Police are seen outside of the Senate side of the Capitol Building on October 3, 2013 in Washington, DC

Events Unfolded just after 2 p.m. today in Washington D.C. when the vehicle driven by an unidentified woman crashed into security gates at the White House sparking a furious chase that ended at the Capitol Events Unfolded just after 2 p.m. today in Washington D.C. when the vehicle driven by an unidentified woman crashed into security gates at the White House sparking a furious chase that ended at the Capitol

US CAPITOL SHOOTING: Police car’s high-speed crash following…

BRAVE CAPITOL POLICE RISKED THEIR LIVES FOR FREE BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

When Congress reconvened after the lock-down Thursday afternoon, the Capitol Police officers who stopped Miriam Carey got a standing ovation – but not much else.

The 1,800 officers who protect the nation’s capital are currently working for free thanks to the government shutdown.

The officers are considered essential staff – so they are turning up for work, but won’t get paid for their service until the impasse ends and Congress agrees to fund the government.

Congressmen tweeted about hiding in coat rooms and ducking behind cars during the harrowing moments before Carey was killed within sight of the Capitol Building.

Meanwhile, the officers who risked their lives haven’t been paid since Tuesday, thanks to Congress’ in-fighting over whether to pass a Continuing Resolution to fund day-to-day operations.

Carey’s former boss of eight years, Dr Steven Oken, said in the eight years he knew Miriam she was ‘always happy’ – and not interested in politics. Neighbors told the New York Daily News she was ‘a nice young lady, stable’.

‘I would never in a million years believe that she would do something like this,’ he told ABC. ‘It’s the furthest thing from anything I would think she would do, especially with her child in the car. I am floored that it would be her.’

That portrait contrasts starkly with the woman who sent Congressmen diving for coatrooms in the Capitol Building and tourists fleeing in terror after she tried to force her way into an entrance to the White House about 2pm on Tuesday.

Despite the sensitive location, Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine said: ‘This appears to be an isolated incident.There is no nexus to terrorism.’

Witnesses say Carey plowed through a temporary barrier and hit a Secret Service agent who was trying to wave her off – sending him flying onto the hood of her car.

The Secret Service opened fire on her car as she turned and fled.

Police pursued her through the streets of Capitol Hill during a frantic chase that hit speeds up to 80pmh.

Video footage shows the Capitol Police officers – who have not been paid since Tuesday because of the government shutdown – surrounded Casey’s car – guns drawn. At one point an officer even sticks his weapon inside her open passenger-side window.

Read More and Watch Video Here

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NBC News

Police cordon off the U.S. Capitol after shots were fired on Capitol Hill on Oct. 3.
Jewel Samad / AFP – Getty Images

The United States Capitol was placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon after a woman tried to ram a car into the White House gate, was chased by Secret Service and exchanged shots with police, sources said.

The suspect — who sources said had a child in the car — was shot and killed, and a shelter-in-place order was lifted at about 3 p.m. At least one Capitol Police officer was injured during the pursuit.

“This appears to be an isolated incident,” said Capitol Police Chief Kim Dine. “Both scenes are under control.”

The U.S. Capitol was placed on lockdown following a car chase and shooting involving a woman who attempted to ram the White House gates.

President Barack Obama was briefed about the harrowing incident, which came in the midst of the government shutdown that has created a tense atmosphere on Capitol Hill.

It started at 2:18 p.m. when the woman in a black car tried to breach White House security at 15th St. and E, law-enforcement sources said.

People take cover as gun shots were heard at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 3.
Jewel Samad / AFP – Getty Images

She did not get through and was chased at high speeds for about 12 blocks, the sources said.

Her car hit a Capitol Police vehicle at Second St. and Constitution Ave. and then crashed into barricades a few blocks away, Dine said.

Law-enforcement sources said she began firing and was shot. The child was reported to be safe.

Her motive was unknown but Dine said there was no reason to think it was an act of terrorism.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Mass., who was on the balcony talking to his colleagues, described a “burst” of gunfire from the House side of the Capitol, towards the House office buildings.

“It was like the first volley in a 21-gun salute,” Rep. Matthew Cartwright, D-Penn., told MNSNBC.

Travis Gilbert, who watched the chase from the roof of the Newseum, said vehicles involved “had several close encounters with other vehicles during the case.”

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TRUTHstreammedia TRUTHstreammedia

Published on Sep 19, 2013

First reports came that suspected shooter Aaron Alexis had filed a police report on Aug. 7 claiming he was being targeted with microwave weapons and was hearing voices through the walls, ceiling and floor of his hotel room. Then reports came out that Alexis carved “My ELF Weapon” and “Better off this way” into his shotgun before the killings. NOW the BBC is reporting the Containment and Emergency Response Team or CERT team was told to “stand down” when they could have been on scene at the Navy Yard in under 15 minutes after the shootings began. This is bombshell…

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Navy Yard: Swat team ‘stood down’ at mass shooting scene

Investigators continue to work the scene at the Navy Yard two days after a gunman killed 12 people on 16 September 2013
On Wednesday, investigators continued to process the scene

One of the first teams of heavily armed police to respond to Monday’s shooting in Washington DC was ordered to stand down by superiors, the BBC can reveal.

A tactical response team of the Capitol Police, a force that guards the US Capitol complex, was told to leave the scene by a supervisor instead of aiding municipal officers.

The Capitol Police department has launched a review into the matter.

Aaron Alexis, 34, killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard.

“I don’t think it’s a far stretch to say that some lives may have been saved if we were allowed to intervene,” a Capitol Police source familiar with the incident told the BBC.

Assault weapons ready

A former Navy reservist, Alexis was working as a technical contractor for the Navy and had a valid pass and security clearance allowing him entry to the highly secure building in south-east Washington DC.

About 8:15 local time (12:15 GMT), Alexis entered Building 197, headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command, which builds and maintains ships and submarines for the Navy, and opened fire.

Armed with a shotgun and a pistol he took from a guard he had shot, he sprayed bullets down a hallway and fired from a balcony down on to workers in an atrium.

He fired on police officers who eventually stormed the building, and was later killed in the shootout.

Multiple sources in the Capitol Police department have told the BBC that its highly trained and heavily armed four-man Containment and Emergency Response Team (Cert) was near the Navy Yard when the initial report of an active shooter came in about 8:20 local time.

The officers, wearing full tactical gear and armed with HK-416 assault weapons, arrived outside Building 197 a few minutes later, an official with knowledge of the incident told the BBC.

‘A different outcome’

According to a Capitol Police source, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), Washington DC’s main municipal force, told the Capitol Cert officers they were the only police on the site equipped with long guns and requested their help stopping the gunman.

“Odds are it might have had a different outcome”

Jim Konczos Capitol Police Officer

When the Capitol Police team radioed their superiors, they were told by a watch commander to leave the scene, the BBC was told.

The gunman, Aaron Alexis, was reported killed after 09:00.

Several Capitol Police sources who spoke to the BBC asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.

Capitol Police Officer Jim Konczos, who leads the officers’ union, said the Cert police train for what are known as active shooter situations and are expert marksmen.

“Odds are it might have had a different outcome,” he said of Monday’s shooting and the decision to order the Cert unit to stand down. “It probably could have been neutralised.”

Capitol Hill Police chief Kim Dine has ordered “a comprehensive, independent review of the facts surrounding the Capitol Police’s response to the Navy Yard shootings”.

The Capitol Police Board responded by establishing what it called a “Fact Review Team”, led by Michael Stenger, a former assistant director of the US Secret Service.

Read More Here

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Like nearly all other mass shooters, ex-Navy shooter Aaron Alexis was also being treated with psychiatric drugs

Tuesday, September 17, 2013
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) We weren’t planning to cover this story until the Associated Press confirmed that Aaron Alexis, the shooter believed responsible for the recent mass shooting at the Navy yard, “had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems.”

This is proof that Aaron Alexis was on psychiatric drugs, because that’s the only treatment currently being offered by the Veterans Administration for mental problems. Alexis’ family members also confirmed to the press that he was being “treated” for his mental health problems. Across the medical industry, “treatment” is the code word for psychiatric drugging.

Nearly every shooter has a history of psychiatric drug use

As Natural News readers well know, the vast majority of mass shooters in U.S. history have all been on mind-altering psychiatric drugs. Those prescription medications create feelings of detachment in people, making them feel like they “playing out a video game” rather than acting out in the real world.

See a list of some of the other shootings where the perpetrators were taking psychiatric drugs in this Natural News article.

Not coincidentally, Aaron Alexis was also “obsessed with violent video games,” reports The Telegraph. Violent video games allow potential shooters to “rehearse” their first-person murderous rampage actions, reinforcing the actions in their brain neurology. It makes the act of killing seem normal, if not habitual.

This combination is repeated over and over again in violent mass killings: psychiatric drugs + video games = mass death.

Press once again lies about the AR-15

Of course, a mass shooting also needs to have a firearm present, but even facts surrounding those claims are now proven to be widely and inaccurately reported by the mainstream media — an institution which has now utterly abandoned the concept of fact checking in its rush to get the story out. Not only has the media had to retract its initial claim of the identity of the shooter, it also turns out that there was no AR-15 used in the shooting at all.

“Federal law enforcement sources told CNN Tuesday that authorities have recovered three weapons from the scene of the mass shooting, including one — a shotgun — that investigators believe Alexis brought in to the compound,” reports CNN. “The other two weapons, which sources say were handguns, may have been taken from guards at the Navy complex. The sources, who have detailed knowledge of the investigation, cautioned that initial information that an AR-15 was used in the shootings may have been incorrect. It is believed that Alexis had rented an AR-15, but returned it before Monday morning’s shootings.”

Regardless of the shooter’s weapon of choice, it also turns out that once again he chose a “gun-free zone” to carry out his crime, knowing full well that no ordinary citizens would be able to return fire, giving him plenty of time to carry out his mad killing plan.

This is another characteristic of recent mass shootings: they have all taken place in gun-free zones. Such zones are obviously the preferred targets of mass killers who seek to minimize their own risk of being taken out by return fire.

Finally, it is worth noting that the SWAT team which eventually shot and killed Aaron Alexis most likely did so with an AR-15 rifle, proving that AR-15s are extremely useful in protecting the public when deployed in the hands of someone who has the best interests of the public in mind. The actual rifle model used to kill Alexis has not yet been released, so it could have been something else, but there is no question that SWAT team members were well armed with AR-15-style tactical rifles and that such rifles in the hands of those men unquestionably served a positive role of protecting the public.

You can’t trust the media to tell you the real story

The bottom line in all this is that when it comes to shooters, psychiatric drugs and firearms, you simply can’t trust the mainstream media to tell you the real story. They will often report half-truths or even just invent bizarre new “facts” they want you to believe, but they have no real investment in the idea of getting to the actual story of what happened and bringing that story to the public.

The media is mostly just using this shooting as another way to sell more advertising while pushing a particular political agenda that utterly ignores the far more dangerous chemical holocaust taking place in our nation due to the widespread deployment of psychiatric drugs.

In fact, I am the author of the widely-shared article from 2012 entitled, Gun control? We need medication control!

And I stand by that argument today. A firearm in the hands of a competent, ethical person who protects innocent bystanders is a blessing. But a mind-altering medication in the hands of a violent video game addict with extreme anger issues is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

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CBS  DC

Sources: Navy Yard Shooter Was ‘Hearing Voices,’ Had Mental Illness

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — The deadly attack at the Washington Navy Yard was carried out by Aaron Alexis, one of the military’s own. The 34-year-old was a defense contract employee and former Navy reservist who used a valid pass to get onto the installation and started firing inside a building, killing 12 people before he was slain in a gun battle with police.

The motive for the mass shooting — the deadliest on a military installation in the U.S. since the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 — was a mystery, investigators said. But a profile of the lone gunman is coming into focus.

U.S. law enforcement officials are telling The Associated Press that Alexis had been suffering a host of serious mental issues, including paranoia and a sleep disorder. He also had been hearing voices in his head, the officials said.

Alexis had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation in the case was continuing. The Navy had not declared him mentally unfit, which would have rescinded a security clearance that Alexis had from his earlier time in the Navy Reserves.

Family members told investigators that Alexis was being treated for his mental issues.

At the time of the rampage, Alexis, 34, was an employee with a “The Experts,” a Hewlett-Packard sanctioned company that was a Defense Department subcontractor on a Navy-Marine Corps computer project, authorities said.

HP released the following statement in wake of the rampage: “We are deeply saddened by today’s tragic events at the Washington Navy Yard. Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who have been affected. Aaron Alexis was an employee of a company called ‘The Experts,’ a subcontractor to an HP Enterprise Services contract to refresh equipment used on the NavyMarine Corps Intranet (NMCI) network. HP is cooperating fully with law enforcement as requested.”

Read More Here

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USA Today

Gunman believed to have assembled shotgun in men’s room

Kevin Johnson, Donna Leinwand Leger and Doug Stanglin,

USA TODAY 10:03 p.m. EDT September 17, 2013

New version of Navy Yard massacre indicates he did not shoot his way into the building.

WASHINGTON — Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis cleared a security checkpoint with his contractor ID and carried his shotgun, unassembled, into Building 197 within minutes of starting his bloody rampage Monday, federal investigators said Tuesday.

Investigators revised and refined the details of events at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters that left 13 people dead, including Alexis, who was shot to death in a showdown with police.

A federal law enforcement official said Tuesday that Alexis, a former Navy reservist, had sought assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs for mental illness as recently as a month ago. The official said the 34-year-old contractor recently paid about $540 to buy a 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition at a gun store in Virginia.

Contrary to earlier reports provided by law enforcement officials, Alexis was not believed to be in possession of an AR-15 assault rifle.

Valerie Parlave, chief of the FBI’s Washington, D.C., field division, confirmed that Alexis was armed only with a shotgun when he arrived at the Navy Yard. Parlave said he obtained a handgun at some point during the attack.

“At this time, we believe that Mr. Alexis entered Building 197 at the Navy Yard with a shotgun,” she said. “We do not have any information at this time that he had an AR-15 in his possession.”

After Alexis fired several rounds randomly on the people below, the official said, he ran down a flight of stairs where he confronted and shot a security officer.

Investigators believe Alexis took the officer’s handgun and returned to the overlook, where he continued to shoot. At some point, the official said, Alexis left that location, shot a victim described as a maintenance person or building staffer. He returned one last time to the overlook, where he was ultimately killed in a confrontation with police.

Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the first Washington police officers, two units, arrived on the scene two minutes after being dispatched.

Four minutes after the call, five to seven units had gone through the Navy Yard gates, she said. Seven minutes after the first dispatch call, two police units outside Building 197 heard shots fired and immediately entered the building, she said.

Lanier said she did not have the exact time of the final shootout that resulted in Alexis’ death, but she said law enforcement officers from various agencies exchanged fire with Alexis several times. She said the entire incident lasted 30 to 60 minutes.

The federal official said investigators are just beginning to analyze Alexis’ possessions to determine if they might reveal any motive for the slayings.

“It didn’t appear that he had any plan for escape,” the official said. “No one believes he was looking for anybody in particular,” he said.

A guard stands outside the gate to the Washington Navy Yard on Sept. 17 in Washington, D.C. Thirteen people, including the gunman, were killed during a shooting at the facility a day earlier.
A guard stands outside the gate to the Washington Navy Yard on Sept. 17 in Washington, D.C. Thirteen people, including the gunman, were killed during a shooting at the facility a day earlier.  H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY

A witness, Rick Mason, a program management analyst, said the gunman was aiming down at people in the building’s cafeteria on the first floor.

The Metropolitan Police Department identified the last of the victims Tuesday morning: Arthur Daniels, 51; Mary Francis Knight, 51; Gerald L. Read, 58; Martin Bodrog, 54; and Richard Michael Ridgell, 52.

Read More Here

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CNN U.S.

Navy Yard shooting: AR-15, back in the news — briefly

By Ben Brumfield, CNN
updated 8:59 AM EDT, Tue September 17, 2013

A police officer runs near the scene of the shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, September 16. Authorities said at least 12 people -- and the suspect -- were killed in the shooting. A police officer runs near the scene of the shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, September 16. Authorities said at least 12 people — and the suspect — were killed in the shooting.

Mass shooting at D.C. Navy Yard
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Advocates for tighter gun laws don’t want to put it in the hands of civilians
  • Gun ownership proponents say the solution lies in more guns, not fewer
  • The AR-15 originated as a U.S. Army rifle

(CNN) — It has been called the most popular rifle in America, and it briefly returned to the spotlight after Monday’s shooting at the Navy Yard: the AR-15.

A U.S. law enforcement official said Monday that gunman Aaron Alexis unleashed a barrage of bullets using an AR-15, a rifle and a semi-automatic handgun. Authorities believed the AR-15 was used for most of the shooting, the official said. The news prompted Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of the strongest proponents of a ban on assault weapons like the AR-15, to issue a statement the same day asking, “When will enough be enough?”

However, federal law enforcement sources told CNN Tuesday that authorities have recovered three weapons from the scene of the mass shooting, including one — a shotgun — that investigators believe Alexis brought in to the compound. The other two weapons, which sources say were handguns, may have been taken from guards at the Navy complex.

The sources, who have detailed knowledge of the investigation, cautioned that initial information that an AR-15 was used in the shootings may have been incorrect. It is believed that Alexis had rented an AR-15, but returned it before Monday morning’s shootings. Authorities are still investigating precisely how many weapons Alexis had access to and when.

Photos: Navy Yard shooting suspect
Photos: Navy Yard shooting suspect

Witness describes Navy Yard shooting

Gunman passed security clearances

Tragedy at the Washington Navy Yard

Regardless, the massacre pushed the AR-15 back into the gun-control debate. The weapon has been used in several other rampages that shocked the nation:

Sandy Hook: Adam Lanza killed 26 people at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, with an AR-15 in December 2012.

Aurora: Police say James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 58 using an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one of two .40-caliber handguns police recovered at the scene.

Portland: Jacob Tyler Roberts stole an AR-15 and killed two people in a mall food court in December 2012.

Santa Monica: John Zawahri allegedly pieced together an AR-15-type gun and went on a rampage that started at his father’s home and ended at Santa Monica College in June. Five people were killed.

More or fewer guns

Advocates for tighter gun laws don’t want to see the semi-automatic cousin of the military-issue M4 assault rifle in the hands of civilians.

“Almost every mass shooting involves an AR-15 assault rifle,” Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford told CNN’s Piers Morgan Monday night.

“It’s the preferred mass shooter’s weapon of choice,” added Lunsford, who was wounded by Maj. Nidal Hasan during the Ft. Hood shooting in 2009.

“But I don’t see a logical reason why any civilian needs to have one of these killing machines.”

Gun ownership proponents, on the other hand, say the solution lies in more guns, not fewer.

That’s precisely the point CNN commentator and pro-gun activist Ben Ferguson made to Morgan.

Armed security guards aren’t enough, he said. Once a gunman gets past them, they are no longer effective.

Read More Here

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Navy Yard Shooter Dead After Fatal Incident (LIVE UPDATES)

AP

Washington Navy Yard
A U.S. Park Police helicopter with a person in the rescue basket, flies over a building at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. At least one gunman opened fire inside a building at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The Huffington Post  |  Posted: 09/16/2013 12:12 pm EDT  |  Updated: 09/16/2013 12:34 pm EDT

Officials say at least one shooter has died at the Washington Navy Yard, according to the AP. Several people were killed and as many as 10 were wounded during a shooting that began early Monday morning.

District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy Lanier confirmed that the shooter has been killed during a press conference. She also said one officer was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a shooter.

AP
Please be advised that the Associated Press is further investigating the details in these photos, which show people tending to a person lying on a sidewalk near the area where a gunman was reported at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. We are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the person’s collapse. We will retransmit the photo with an updated caption when we have more information. (The AP)

live blog

Oldest Newest

2:22 PM – Today

Senate On Full Lockdown

The Senate sergeant at arms has sent a full lockdown memo to the Senate offices.

The memo is below:

In light of the uncertainty surrounding the shooting at the Navy Yard this morning and particularly the possibility of suspects remaining at large, we have decided to lock down the Senate complex. You may move about the building; however, for the next two hours you may not leave nor can anyone enter the building. This will be in effect until we deem the situation safe in the neighboring community. We do not have any information to suggest the Senate, its Members, or staff are in any danger, but out of an abundance of caution, we feel this is the best course of action to keep everyone safe. This is being done in consultation with Chief Kim Dine, U.S. Capitol Police. Additional information will be shared at 5:00 p.m.

— Sam Stein

2:20 PM – Today

Nationals Game Canceled

The Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves will not play tonight, as the stadium is very close to the site of the shooting.

The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow as a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

— Luke Johnson

Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, has been identified as the shooter at the Navy Yards, three outlets are now reporting.

The identification has come from NBC News, USA Today and CBS News.

The Huffington Post reached out to the police department for confirmation, but officials there were not confirming names as of 3:00 p.m. Monday.

Earlier in the day, NBC News and CBS identified another suspect as the shooter. That report turned out to be wrong and the two news stations retracted their stories.

The Huffington Post will continue to try and independently confirm Alexis’ involvement in the shooting.

Jesse Rodriguez @JesseRodriguez

Sergeant at Arms Terry Gainer tells NBC News he has recommended to Senate leadership a “shelter in place” at Capitol

1:55 PM – Today

Stuck In The Food CourtNavy Yard employee Gerritt tweeted a picture of the scene from the Navy Yard food court where he is on lockdown:

Gerritt @Gerritt

Watching the news at the Navy Yard food court. Still locked down. pic.twitter.com/B2PIPcWDqJ

Bret Baier         @BretBaier

Players cleared to go to Nats Park after Navy Yard shootings-game status still unclear- told they can come to the stadium on a certain route

1:48 PM – Today

Police: White Male In Tan Outfit Not A Suspect

DC Police Department         @DCPoliceDept

The white male in the tan outfit has been identified and is not a suspect or person of interest.

Christina Wilkie          @christinawilkie

3 buses head into perimeter of . Shelter in place order on. Unclear if buses for employees. pic.twitter.com/jZlr7rPmJO

1:24 PM – Today

Mitch McConnell Thanks Armed Services, Capitol Police

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) addressed the mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., in a floor speech Monday. A transcript is below:

We’re all thinking about today’s tragic shootings at the Navy Yard, about the victims and their families. The men and women in our military courageously put their lives on the line in many dangerous places around the world. It’s painful for all of us to think about them having to worry about their safety when they come home, too.Many people in the area — and across the country — will be directly affected by this terrible tragedy. We pray for all of them.

These kinds of incidents always remind us how fragile life is. They also remind those of us who work in and around the Capitol how much we owe to all the men and women who work so hard to keep us safe each and every day.

So I want to take this opportunity to thank Terry Gainer and his team, and Chief [Kim] Dine and the entire Capitol Police force, for all they do day in and day out. And for everyone else who is helping work through this tragedy — the first responders and medical personnel, the D.C. police — I want you to know one thing: We are thankful for your hard work and sacrifice.

Everyone is deeply grateful, especially on days like this.

— Sabrina Siddiqui

1:19 PM – Today

Photo: M Street And Half Street

A panoramic photo shows M Street and Half Street SE to the right, and the entrance to the Navy Yard metro station on the left. Fans going to the game tonight would stream out towards the stadium down the street. On the left is a look down towards the police presence outside Navy Yard and DOT headquarters.

1:15 PM – Today

Senate In Recess After Shooting

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced Monday the Senate would be in recess in light of the Navy Yard shooting. Votes scheduled for Monday evening were postponed to Tuesday morning. The Nevada Democrat expressed his condolences for victims in remarks on the Senate floor and thanked first responders at the scene.

–Sabrina Siddiqui

1:13 PM – Today

D.C. Mayor: 12 Fatalities

At least 12 people have died in the Navy Yard shootings this morning, Mayor Vincent Gray said during his second press briefing on Monday.

“It doesn’t get much more serious than this,” said a sullen-looking Gray. He added that one officer was injured but that “he’s gonna be fine.”

There was no known motive at this stage, Gray added, and no reason to think it’s a terrorist threat.

“We don’t know for certain whether there are other shooters,” said Gray. “We’re continuing to engage in that investigation.”

12:51 PM – Today

Starbucks Near Navy Yard Is Closed

Some fast food joints are still open by the Navy Yard. Subway is open; Five Guys is open. A few dozen mostly reporters are milling about on the streets. But Starbucks, for one, is not risking anything.

starbucks

–Jennifer Bendery

HuffPost just asked a Metropolitan Police officer whether, as reports suggest, a manhunt is underway for two more suspects believed to be involved in the Navy Yard shooting. The officer answered “kind of.” He declined to give his name.

Indeed, first responders and police officers were spotted in line at a Subway sandwich shop less than a block from police security tape near New Jersey Avenue, SE. Helicopters still hovered close overhead, but some local businesses were open.

The scene was very different from a 24-hour manhunt this April in Boston for suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In that scenario, an entire neighborhood was shut down as heavily armed SWAT teams searched house-to-house.

–Christina Wilkie

12:44 PM – Today

Photo: Nationals Stadium Lot B

A photo from Parking Lot B, taken at 12:12 p.m. Tables are being set up for people to reunite with loved ones.

parking lot b

–Jon Ward

AP
Security personnel respond near the Washington Navy Yard where a gunman was reported in Washington, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. At least one gunman opened fire inside a building at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday morning, and officials said six people were killed and as many as 10 were wounded, including a law enforcement officer. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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At least 12 killed in shooting rampage at Washington Navy Yard, chief says

Alex Wong / Getty Images

A man brandishing an assault rifle, shotgun and handgun opened fire Monday inside a building at the Washington Navy Yard. The city police chief said 12 people were killed.

SWAT officers swarmed the building, the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command, and a shooter there was killed, sources told NBC News. Law enforcement officials identified the gunman to NBC News as Aaron Alexis, 34, originally of Fort Worth, Texas. They said he recently began working as a civilian contractor.

Chief Cathy Lanier said there could be as many as two other suspects at large, one white and one black, both seen with firearms and wearing military-style uniforms. But reports conflicted in the chaotic hours after the rampage, and there was no confirmation of more than one person firing shots.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last December, and the worst at a military installation since 13 people were killed at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.

The number of injured was not clear.

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

NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports on the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. and shares the latest information. NBC’s Kasie Hunt also joins the conversation.

Terrie Durham, who works at the Naval Sea Systems Command building, said she saw a gunman who appeared to be wearing dark fatigues. Another worker there, Todd Brundidge, said he heard a fire alarm go off, and later saw the gunman come around the corner.

“He turned our way and started firing, and we ran downstairs to get out of the building,” Brundidge said. “No words. He raised the gun and started firing.”

Jacquelyn Martin / AP
A U.S. Park Police helicopter removes a man in a basket from the Washington Navy Yard, Sept. 16. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Navy said it was searching for an active shooter at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters, where about 3,000 people work.

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images
Snipers take their positions on the roof of a building at the Navy Yard complex in Washington D.C. where a shooting took place early this morning on Sept. 16.

Read More and  Watch Video Here

Don Andres / via AP

A naval security guard was among those shot and was hit in both legs, U.S. military officials said. Washington city police told WRC, the NBC affiliate in Washington, that one of their officers was also among those shot. It was not clear how many of the others shot were civilian and how many were military.

Patricia Ward, who works at the Navy Yard, said she had just gotten breakfast in the cafeteria when she heard “three gunshots, pow-pow-pow, straight in a row.”

“All of the people that were in the cafeteria, we all panicked, and we were trying to decide which way we were going to run out,” she said. “I just ran.”

Tim Hogan, a spokesman for Rep. Steven Horsford of Nevada, posted photos to his Twitter account of people tending to at least one person down on a street corner.

Chaos enveloped the surrounding neighborhood for hours. Flights were briefly grounded at Reagan National Airport, and nearby schools and the headquarters of the Department of Transportation were locked down. Farther away, police stepped up security on the Capitol grounds.

Washington police issued lookouts for two people they described as suspects — a 50-year-old black man with a rifle, wearing an olive drab military uniform, and a white man with a pistol, wearing a short-sleeved, khaki uniform and a beret.

Read More and Watch Video Here

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(David Goldman/ Associated Press ) – Shanique Worthey, right, is embraced by her mother Daphne Morris, while waiting to be reunited with her son five-year-old son Skyler Worthey as students from Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy are picked up by loved ones in a Walmart parking lot after they were evacuated when a gunman entered the school, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013, in Decatur, Ga.

By Associated Press, Published: August 20 | Updated: Wednesday, August 21, 4:48 PM

LITHONIA, Ga. — A woman whose family once took in the suspect in an Atlanta-area school shooting said Wednesday that he was mentally ill but never violent in the past.Natasha Knotts told The Associated Press that Michael Brandon Hill lived with her and her husband for several months in his late teens. She says she served as a mother figure for Hill in after he started coming to the small church where she and her husband are pastors.
Two people who encountered a man accused of opening fire inside an Atlanta school said he told them he was off his medication.

Two people who encountered a man accused of opening fire inside an Atlanta school said he told them he was off his medication.

Also on Wednesday, police gave more details about the previous day’s ordeal and what led up to it. Before going to the school, investigators say that Hill took a photo of himself with an AK 47-style rifle and packed up nearly 500 rounds of ammunition — enough to shoot more than half the school’s students.Police said Hill, 20, got the gun from an acquaintance, but it’s not clear if he stole it or had permission to take it.No one was injured, but the suspect exchanged gunfire with police who surrounded Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur. The school’s 870 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade were evacuated.“We have to make a reasonable assumption he was there to do harm to someone,” said DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric L. Alexander.Knotts said Hill called her sister Tuesday afternoon before the shooting and said he had a rifle but didn’t say what he was planning to do. She said she believes that Hill acted out as a plea for help.“This is something that’s totally out of his character. This is not him. This is not the Mike that I know. For anyone that knew Mike, this was a total devastation,” she said in an interview at her home in Lithonia.Though there is no blood or legal connection between them, Knotts said she considers Hill like a son.“He was part of our family,” Knotts said of the roughly six months that Hill stayed with them several years ago. Her family was aware that “he had a mental disorder” before he moved in, but she said he was loving and quiet and never displayed any anger or violent tendencies.

He didn’t work, didn’t seem to have any friends and hardly ever spoke about his family or his past, Knotts said. Hill told her that his birth mother was dead and that he didn’t know his father. He also has brothers.

She kept in touch after he moved out and said he’d recently been living with another couple who belonged to the church. Knotts last saw Hill about a month ago and he seemed fine.

Hill held one or two staff members in the front office captive for a time, the police chief said, making one of them call a local TV station. At some point, he fired into the floor of the school office. As officers swarmed the campus outside, he shot at them at least a half a dozen times with an assault rifle from inside the school and they returned fire, police said. Police came into the school office, and Hill surrendered.

Hill is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, terroristic threats and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Police declined to discuss what he told them when he was questioned.

Read More  Here

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Anthony Gucciardi

Published on Aug 12, 2013

For many misled citizens of the United States and internationally, government IS now God. The government takes care of them with federal money, runs their lives for them, and decides what they can and cannot say.

We have now officially seen the shift from Big Brother government to Big Daddy government, where the government is a father figure that takes care of its citizens.

…..

Hmmmmm,  I  suppose  under that  premise  then  the  Middle  Class  Taxpayer  must  be   the   red  headed  step child in the  eyes  of  Father  Government?

~Desert Rose~

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Prayer for President Barack Obama

Regina Young·

Published on Aug 11, 2013

The prayer that he wanted to say for our President is priceless

…..

Hmmmmm,  Ms Regina Young is  either  implying that  Obama  is  a  Saint or  she is   misguided in  how  prayers  for  people  are  said.  This  child  has been instructed in a  manner , that seems  to the viewer, to be  praying  to Obama,  not  for  Obama.  So, is  he a  Saint to intercede since  God  has  been  mentioned.  Or   is he  also a  God  to  be  prayed  to and  thanked  for  his  merciful gifting  and  accomplishments?

A  very  twisted view  of  what is  happening  to  this  Nation.  Yes  the  child’s innocent  enthusiasm is  precious.  It is the  intent  behind  what the  child has  been  instructed  to  do  that  is  so  disturbing……..

~Desert Rose~

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Praying To Obama SICK SICK SICK

Fight0Tyranny

Lest  we  forget  where  this  twisted  view  began we  revisit  3 years ago  to   his  elders and in the  House  of God  nonetheless!  I  wonder  where  they  left  their  bibles  when they  were  orchestrating  this prayer service?

~Desert Rose ~
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The beatification of Barack Hussein Obama continues…

Move over golden calf, children have started praying to Obama

By Robert Laurie ( Bio and Archives)

Monday, August 12, 2013

If you thought that Barack Obama was just a mortal man elected to a temporary position in office, you thought wrong.  According to this video, he’s much, much, more than that.  He is a divine instrument, replete with God-given “special powers.”

According to various sources, the following video was posted to Youtube by the boy’s mother, where it was billed as “A Prayer for Barack Obama.” The problem is that the child here isn’t praying for the President, he’s praying to him. He even goes so far as to thank him for “everything you have done for us” and – unbelievably – for taking “all the responsibility” for his actions.

Read More Here

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