New Security Procedures Ordered in Wake of Navy Yard Shootings
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Patrick Smith/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered several changes to Pentagon security procedures Tuesday in an effort to prevent workplace violence such as last September’s Washington Navy Yard shooting that left 12 people dead.
The new rules include automated checks of personnel with access to military facilities or classified information as well as the establishment of an “Insider Threat Management and Analysis Center.”
Aaron Alexis, the former reservist who carried out the deadly shooting spree before being gunned down by police, had a “delusional belief” that he was being controlled by electromagnetic waves, according to federal investigators.
Despite his bizarre behavior, concerns about Alexis’ mental health were not reported to the government. Had anyone stepped forward, the Pentagon report concluded that “Alexis’ authorization to access secure facilities and information would have been revoked.”
The report also faulted the Navy for not properly monitoring Alexis. If the government was informed about his mental illness, the report notes, “the chain of events that led to the [Navy Yard)] shooting incident on September 16, 2013, may have been interrupted, earlier in Alexis’ career.”
Yet, in spite of all the pointing of fingers, Adm. John Richardson, who led the Navy review, said the “primary responsibility rests with Aaron Alexis” for taking the lives of 12 people.
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