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Naval station Norfolk briefly locked down after sailor shot dead aboard ship US sailor shot dead aboard destroyer at Naval Station Norfolk
(35 minutes later)
An American sailor was fatally shot and security forces killed the single civilian suspect late Monday aboard a guided-missile destroyer docked at the world's largest naval base, according to the US navy. A civilian shot and killed an American sailor late Monday night on deck of the guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan, while the ship was pierside at Naval Station Norfolk.
No other injuries were reported, and Naval Station Norfolk was briefly put on lockdown, base spokeswoman Terri Davis said early Tuesday. Naval forces killed the shooter. The incident, which occurred on the deck of the Mahan, is currently under investigation by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service detachment stationed at Norfolk.
Davis identified the suspect as a male civilian but said she couldn't say whether he had permission to be aboard the ship or on the base. She would not describe the circumstances of the shooting but said the scene was secure. The shooter “had access to base,” according to a spokesperson for the station, Terri Davis. Davis said the assailant was not employed by the Department of the Navy, making it likely the shooter was a contractor.
She said the sailor killed also was a male but did not give other details about him. Davis said the name of the dead sailor is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin. Nor would she disclose the name of the shooter or the length of his access to the naval station.
Operations had returned to normal at the base, with counselors available, the Navy said in a news release, but enlisted sailors on the Mahan were not to report to duty Tuesday. For 45 minutes following the shooting, which occurred at approximately 11.20pm ET, the world’s largest naval base was locked down. An advisory from the base Tuesday morning instructed non-duty section enlisted sailors assigned to the Mahan not to report.
The shooting on the USS Mahan — about 11.20pm. Monday, as the destroyer was docked at Pier 1 — comes about a month after the navy held anti-terrorism and force protection exercises around the world, including an active-shooter drill at the Norfolk base. A week ago, the Pentagon and the Department of the Navy released a series of recommendations designed to improve naval station and broader military-base security in the wake of last year’s mass shootings at the Washington Navy Yard. Former navy reservist and subcontractor Aaron Alexis killed 12 people before being fatally shot by police.
To get on the base, civilians must be escorted or have a pass. Each base entrance is guarded, and all 13 piers have additional security forces. As part of ongoing security efforts, handheld ID scanners were implemented this year at Navy bases in the region, including the Norfolk station. Among the recommendations is what Marcel Lettre, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, told reporters would be a switch to a “continuous evaluation system” for personnel, including contractors, who hold security clearances and access to US military installations.
The shooting, which was under investigation, comes months after a September incident at the Washington Navy Yard, in which a gunman — identified as a contractor and former navy reservist — killed 12 civilian workers before being shot to death. Navy secretary Ray Mabus told reporters on March 18 that following reviews implemented immediately after the Washington Navy Yard shooting, “we've already made changes to improve physical security and protect – force protection on our bases. Our units have completed self-assessments to ensure their own compliance and our departmental leadership has engaged directly with commanding officers around the world to stress their role in protecting our civilian and military personnel.”
The Norfolk base covers more than 6,000 acres and is the home port for 64 ships, according to information the navy provided in February. About 46,000 military members and 21,000 civilian government employees and contractors are assigned to the base and its ships, according to the navy figures. Earlier this month, the Mahan made a five-day port visit to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras.
The base also is the home port for a navy hospital ship, docked at Pier 1 with the Mahan.
In February, the Norfolk base got a new commanding officer, Robert Clark. He took over for David Culler, who was set to retire in May. Clark had served as the installation's executive officer since 2012.
The Mahan, commissioned in 1998, has a crew of about 300. In September, it returned to Norfolk after a deployment of more than eight months that included being positioned in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for a potential strike against Syria.