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Effort to Alert Officials on Suspect’s Instability Fell Through Cracks Warning on Shooting Suspect’s Stability Not Passed to Superiors
(about 2 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Naval police in Rhode Island did not alert superiors in Washington to evidence pointing to the mental instability of the man who the police say killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard, Pentagon officials said. WASHINGTON — Naval police in Rhode Island did not alert superiors in Washington to evidence pointing to the mental instability of the former Navy reservist who the police say killed 12 people at a Washington Navy base, Pentagon officials said.
Police officers in Newport, R.I., who interviewed the man, Aaron Alexis, on Aug. 7 were concerned enough by his claims to be hearing voices sent by a “microwave machine” that they faxed their report to naval police in Newport, where Mr. Alexis was working temporarily as a contractor. The report was logged by security personnel at the station, but never made it into the hands of officials who could have revoked Mr. Alexis’ security clearance to enter the navy yard, where the police say he killed a dozen civilians on Monday before the police shot him to death. The police in Rhode Island who interviewed the man, Aaron Alexis, on Aug. 7 were concerned enough by his claims to be hearing voices sent by a “microwave machine” that they faxed their report to Naval police in Newport, where Mr. Alexis was working temporarily as a contractor. But the Newport police did not take further action because they did not consider Mr. Alexis dangerous.
“In a big organization like the Navy it is never as connected as it should be, so you have reports and things that come into offices and never make it back to headquarters,” said a former senior federal official who has been briefed on the investigation. “He’s just hearing voices,” said Lt. William Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the department. “We can’t arrest someone for that.”
While working in Rhode Island for a Navy computer services contractor, Mr. Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist from Fort Worth, also complained to his employer that he was hearing voices through the walls of his hotel room and having trouble sleeping, a person with knowledge of the company said. The report was logged by security personnel at the Naval station, but never made it into the hands of Pentagon officials who could have reassessed Mr. Alexis’s security clearance to enter the Washington Navy Yard, where the police say he opened fire on a crowd of civilians eating breakfast before police officers shot him to death on Monday.
Human resource officials at the company, the Experts, believed Mr. Alexis was describing actual noise and twice moved him to different hotels. They were concerned enough to contact the Newport police after Mr. Alexis said he had spoken to officers. The police did not provide details of Mr. Alexis’ statements about hearing voices, the person with knowledge of the company said. “In a big organization like the Navy it is never as connected as it should be so you have reports and things that come into offices and never make it back to headquarters,” said a former senior federal official who has been briefed on the investigation.
The new information about the Newport Naval Station’s failure to pass along the police report came hours after Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel acknowledged that the process used to grant security clearances and access to military installations was in need of review, and most likely repair, in the wake of the shootings. Mr. Hagel acknowledged that “red flags” about the gunman’s past behavior were missed. Mr. Alexis’s clearance, first obtained while he was in the reserves, has become the focus of intense debate in Washington over whether repeated signs of his problems, including insubordination in the Navy and arrests in three cities were overlooked.
“Obviously, something went wrong,” Mr. Hagel said as he announced that he had ordered reviews of physical security, access procedures and the process for granting and renewing security clearances at Defense Department installations around the world. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel acknowledged in a news conference on Wednesday that the process of granting security clearances needed fixing, saying that “a lot of red flags” about the gunman’s past behavior were missed.
“Where there are gaps we will close them, where there are inadequacies we will address them, where there are failures we will correct them,” he said. “Our people deserve safe and secure workplaces.” “Obviously, something went wrong,” Mr. Hagel said as he announced that he had ordered a sweeping review of procedures at Defense Department bases around the world. “We would hope we will find some answers to how can we do it better.”
The Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that Mr. Alexis visited the emergency room at a veterans’ medical center in Providence, R.I., on Aug. 23, two weeks after telling the police in Newport that strangers were harassing him with a microwave machine, and that he had been hearing voices “through the wall, flooring and ceiling.” But according to the statement, he told a doctor only that he was having insomnia, and he was given a “small amount” of medication, which an official said was the antidepressant Trazodone. He requested and received a refill five days later at a veterans’ medical center in Washington, saying he could not sleep because of his work schedule.
Mr. Alexis apparently did not mention hearing voices. And when asked if he was experiencing anxiety or depression, or was having thoughts of hurting himself or others, he answered no. “He was alert and oriented,” the statement said.
Mr. Alexis enrolled in the Veterans Affairs health system in February 2011, shortly after receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy Reserve. But he never sought an appointment from a mental health specialist, and he canceled or did not show up for scheduled primary care appointments, the statement said. He was receiving veterans’ disability compensation of $395 a month for orthopedic problems and tinnitus.
F.B.I. behavioral analysts have been seeking to determine the significance of phrases that were etched in the side of the shotgun that Mr. Alexis used during his rampage, according to a law enforcement official. Close to where shells are loaded into the firearm, the phrases “Better off this way” and “My ELF weapon” were etched, the official said. That firearm and a handgun that Mr. Alexis took from a security guard he shot during his attack were found next to his body after the authorities killed him. “We are still not sure what any of that means,” said the official, referring to the phrases.
Although Mr. Alexis had been involved in firearms incidents, had a record of misbehavior in the Navy and had shown indications of mental illness, those potential warnings did not affect his employment with a defense contractor or his security clearance.
“Obviously, there were a lot of red flags,” Mr. Hagel said. The question of “why they didn’t get picked up” will be part of the review.
“We will review everything,” he said. “We would hope we will find some answers to how can we do it better.”
Among the questions will be whether more personal information — even short of information on a criminal conviction — should be required, and whether reviews of personnel for security clearances should be conducted more often.Among the questions will be whether more personal information — even short of information on a criminal conviction — should be required, and whether reviews of personnel for security clearances should be conducted more often.
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke alongside Mr. Hagel and expressed doubts that any security lapse could be attributed to recent budget cuts. Two weeks after talking to the police about hearing voices, Mr. Alexis, 34, visited the emergency room at a veterans’ medical center in Providence, R.I., the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed in a statement on Wednesday. But according to the veterans’ department, he told a doctor only that he was having insomnia, and he was given a “small amount” of medication, which an official said was the antidepressant Trazodone.
General Dempsey also defended policies that removed questions of mental health issues from security reviews. Those questions were eliminated to get rid of any potential stigma for military personnel who had sought treatment for post-traumatic disorders associated with combat duty. He requested and received a refill five days later at a veterans’ medical center in Washington, saying he could not sleep because of his work schedule.
Also on Wednesday, White House officials announced that President Obama would attend a memorial service on Sunday for the victims of the shooting. When asked if he was having anxiety or depression, or was having thoughts of hurting himself or others, he answered no. “He was alert and oriented,” the statement said.
“The president will want to mourn the loss of these innocent victims and share in the nation’s pain in the aftermath of another senseless mass shooting,” said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary. While he was in Rhode Island, Mr. Alexis also told his employer that he was hearing voices through the walls of his hotel room and having trouble sleeping, a person with knowledge of the company said. Human resources officials at the company where Mr. Alexis worked, The Experts, believed Mr. Alexis was describing actual noise and moved him to two different hotels in Newport. They were concerned enough to contact the Newport police after Mr. Alexis said he had spoken to officers. But the police told the officials that they had no information about Mr. Alexis, the person with knowledge of the company said.
Mr. Carney said details about the time and place of the service, and about Mr. Obama’s role in it, were not yet available. In Brooklyn, Mr. Alexis’s mother, Cathleen Alexis, offered her first public statement since the shooting, expressing grief for the families of the victims.

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting.

“I don’t know why he did what he did and I will never be able to ask him why,” she said. “Aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone and for that I am glad. To the families of the victims: I am so so very sorry that this happened. My heart is broken.”
In the search for clues to the motive, F.B.I. behavioral analysts have been studying phrases that were etched in the side of the shotgun that the police say Mr. Alexis used during his shooting spree, according to a law enforcement official. Close to where shells are loaded into the firearm, the phrases “Better off this way” and “My ELF weapon” were etched, the official said. “We are still not sure what any of that means,” said the official.
Also on Wednesday, the Capitol Police Department announced that it would review its response to the attack after news reports that a special tactics team that responded early at the Navy Yard had been told to stand down and not pursue the gunman. The BBC reported the heavily armed team was told by a watch commander to leave the scene rather than join officers from the Washington Metropolitan Police Department in entering the building.
That review will coincide with the Pentagon’s analysis of its procedures for granting security clearances, especially the common one Mr. Alexis obtained from the Navy as a precondition of being hired as what his employer, an independent contractor, called a Level 1 Desktop Tech. Working with a team of other technicians, he visited half a dozen Navy bases starting in July, upgrading computer work stations, according to the person with knowledge of his employer.
Among the questions about Mr. Alexis’s case is why a record of misbehavior in the Navy did not affect his security clearance. Navy officials have interviewed the commander of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 46, in Fort Worth, Tex., who was Mr. Alexis’s supervisor during his final duty in the Navy and who sought to have Mr. Alexis forced out of the military with a general discharge, one level below honorable discharge, which could have prevented him from gaining a security clearance.
“The commander thought he was not a great sailor,” said one Navy officer. But he was overruled by his superior, an admiral, who felt a series of nonviolent misbehaviors that Mr. Alexis committed while in uniform did not warrant a general discharge.
Pentagon officials noted that up to one-quarter of all enlisted personnel might have similar discipline records.
“Had he received a general discharge, had this pattern of behavior been made available, it wouldn’t have predicted he could be a suspect in a future mass murder, but it might have identified him as a less-than-ideal employee for access to a military installation,” one Pentagon official said.
“The accumulated behavior,” the Pentagon official said, “might have raised issues of trust.”

Michael S. Schmidt and Joseph Goldstein contributed reporting from Washington.