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C/NET
The Washington Post has dropped its paywall for readers seeking more information about the shootings Monday morning in the Washington Navy Yard, a military facility near Capitol Hill. At least 12 people were killed in the shooting, including a gunman, according to police.A blue banner on the front door of the Post's Web site reads "Full access to washingtonpost.com is currently available without charge."
It's not the first time that a major publication has decided to remove a paywall in an effort to give more readers access to information in the wake of a tragedy. The New York Times and other newspapers removed their paywalls during Hurricane Sandy, and BostonGlobe.com and other publications suspended their paywalls following the Boston Marathon explosions.There's been plenty of speculation about Jeff Bezos' plans for the Post, ever since the Amazon CEO announced his $250 million purchase of the newspaper last month. So far, Bezos has been mostly hands-off. In a memo to Post employees after the announcement, he wrote that he "won't be leading The Washington Post day to day" and that the "paper's duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners."
NPR
Go to White House website and search for "Obama,""shooting," and "statement," and you'll be faced with an unrelentingly grim list.Newtown. Aurora. Oak Creek. Tucson. Fort Hood. And now, Navy Yard.
Since Obama took office in January 2009, his presidency has been shadowed by at least 19 mass shootings — those in which four or more people were killed.
Five of those shootings, now including Navy Yard, are among the top 10 most deadly massacres in the United States over the past three-plus decades.
The president addressed the shootings Monday morning, before the full deadly extent of the Navy Yard violence emerged, and made reference to the nation "confronting yet another mass shooting."
His words, offering comfort and support to families of the victims and promising a thorough investigation, had become all too familiar.
NY Times
WASHINGTON — At least 13 people, including one gunman, were killed, and the police were looking for other potential suspects, in a shooting Monday morning at a naval office building not far from Capitol Hill and the White House, police officials said.One police officer was in surgery after being shot in an exchange of fire with a gunman, said Chief Cathy L. Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department. The shootings took place at the Washington Navy Yard, in the southeast part of the city.
Senior law enforcement officials identified the gunman as Aaron Alexis, 34. He was identified through his fingerprints. As of Monday night, investigators were operating on the belief that Mr. Alexis acted alone, despite earlier statements from Washington law enforcement officials that there were two other gunmen.
Washington Post
The dead gunman in Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard is Aaron Alexis, 34, a Navy veteran who was discharged after he was arrested in a shooting incident—but was later hired by a government subcontractor.Police said it was unclear if Alexis acted alone, or how he accessed the tightly guarded Navy Yard. As of Monday evening, authorities also are still searching for another person: a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns, wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform
Alexis, a native of New York City, worked for a company called The Experts, a subcontractor to Hewlett Packard on a federal contract to work on the Navy Marine Corps Intranet network, according to a statement from Hewlett Packard. It was unclear if Alexis was still employed by that subcontractor, or if his work took him to the Navy Yard.
Alexis died at the scene of Monday’s shooting, in which at least 12 other people died. D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said no motive is known.
The Guardian
Thirteen people died after a gunman opened fire at a naval complex in the heart of Washington DC on Monday, in what became the worst attack on a military base in the US since the Fort Hood killings in 2009.As authorities struggled to piece together the details of what happened at the Washington navy yard, Barack Obama lamented "yet another mass shooting" and called it a "cowardly act".
The FBI named the attacker as Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy aviation electrician's mate who was stationed in Texas until he left the military in 2011. Police records showed that he had been arrested at least twice in the past for gun-related incidents.
Alexis died after a sustained firefight with police and security staff, who found numerous casualties after responding to emergency calls. "There were multiple engagements with the suspect who was ultimately deceased," said Cathy Lanier, chief of police in Washington DC. "There is no question he would have kept shooting."
The FBI, which took the lead in the investigation, was determining how Alexis got into the navy yard: unconfirmed media reports have suggested that he may have used someone else's identification to get past security staff. About 3,000 people work at the complex, which houses the US naval sea systems command headquarters, responsible for buying, building and maintaining the US navy's ships, submarines and combat systems.
NPR
The sprawling Washington Navy Yard, scene of a deadly shooting Monday, is the Navy's oldest shore establishment and has long been considered the "ceremonial gateway" to the nation's capital.Located on the banks of the Anacostia River and near the Washington Nationals ballpark in southeast D.C., it is home to several key commands, including the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), which oversees ship and submarine construction and maintenance, and the Judge Advocate General's Corps, which is the Navy's legal arm.
The yard went into operation at the turn of the 19th century. Today, it employs about 3,000 people and is regarded as the "quarterdeck of the Navy" for its role as headquarters for the Naval District Washington.
According to the Navy, NAVSEA "is the largest of the Navy's five system commands. With a fiscal year budget of nearly $30 billion, NAVSEA accounts for one quarter of the Navy's entire budget."
"We engineer, build, buy and maintain ships, submarines and combat systems that meet the Fleet's current and future operational requirements," according to NAVSEA's website. It adds: