US law enforcement officials have identified the dead gunman, who killed twelve people and injured at least a dozen others at the Washington Navy Yard.
The gunman, Aaron Alexis, was among the 13 dead and police are searching for a second possible attacker who may have been disguised in a military-style uniform, police said on Monday.
The 34-year-old Alexis joined the Navy in 2007 and was kicked out of the military in 2011 as a result of a gun arrest in Fort Worth, Texas, according to US officials.
Dozens of police and emergency vehicles surrounded the Navy complex in Washington, which is about a mile south of the US Capitol and three miles from the White House.
Alexis was discovered with an AR-15 assault rifle and a shotgun with him.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting and then talked about it at the start of an economic speech.
“We are confronting yet another mass shooting, and today it happened at another military installation, in our nation’s capital,” Obama said.
“It targeted our military and civilian personnel, men and women who were going to work, doing their job protecting all of us. They are patriots and they know the dangers of serving abroad,” Obama said. “But today they faced the unimaginable violence that they won’t have expected here at home.”
President Obama also promised “whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.”
The US president had vowed to enact “sensible” gun control measures after a gunman shot dead 20 school children and six adults at an elementary school in Connecticut last December.
The incident has brought parts of Washington D.C. to a standstill as authorities assessed the situation. Nine public schools were placed on lockdowns this morning.
AHT/AGB
Copyright: Press TV