Navy Gunman 'Had a Problem' With His Company

Alexis started shooting on floor where he worked
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2013 2:48 AM CDT
Updated Sep 20, 2013 3:30 AM CDT
Did Trouble at Work Prompt Navy Yard Attack?
This undated photo provided by Kristi Suthamtewakul shows Aaron Alexis.   (AP Photo/Courtesy of Kristi Suthamtewakul)

The investigation following Monday's Navy Yard shooting is looking into a possible motive: trouble at work. Aaron Alexis "was not doing a very good job, and somebody told him that there was a problem," a law enforcement official tells the Washington Post. Alexis began shooting on the fourth floor, which is where he and colleagues worked. "Our belief is that the people who were shot first were people ... he had some sort of a dispute with," the official notes. "After that, it became random."

Alexis "kind of held on to grudges a little more than most people," says a former manager. "Things (at work) that would bother him; they might be the same things that might bother other people, but three or four weeks later, even if it was a minor thing, he’d still be grumbling about it." A former housemate of Alexis tells the New York Times Alexis "had a problem with his company," often complaining his paychecks were late or he wasn't paid enough. In other news:

  • The Times reports that, six weeks before the shooting, Alexis' employer, The Experts, called the Rhode Island hotel where he was staying to say "that he is unstable and the company is bringing him home," according to a call log entry. Per the log, the employee who took the call found his room vacant.
  • Union officials say federal firefighter and police radios failed as the responders pushed into the attack area, the Hill reports. They turned to cell phones and Washington, DC, emergency teams' radios. "They had to use their cellphone to just call out and tell them what's going on," says a police union rep, noting that problems with radios were a "known issue."
Click for more. (More US Navy Yard stories.)

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