Navy Yard shooter IDed as contractor

Aaron Alexis, identified by law enforcement officials as the shooter who killed 12 at the Navy Yard Monday morning, apparently was employed by a contractor supporting the Navy Marine Corps Intranet.

Reuters is reporting that Alexis worked for The Experts Inc., a Florida IT company that serves as a subcontractor to Hewlett-Packard Co. on NMCI and is part of HP’s team that won the Next Generation Enterprise Network contract, which is currently under protest.

Alexis worked in Japan for The Experts from September 2012 to January 2013 and was recently rehired by the company to work at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C., Thomas Hoshko, The Experts CEO told Reuters.

On its website, the company offered a message of condolences and sympathy for the victims of the attack. “We are actively cooperating with the FBI and other authorities in relation to the investigation on the suspect,” the statement reads.

Hoshko told Reuters that Alexis had a secret clearance and a Defense Department common access card, which apparently gave him access to the Building 197 at the Navy Yard.

“We had just recently re-hired him. Another background investigation was re-run and cleared through the defense security service in July 2013,” Hoshko told Reuters.

Several published reports say that Alexis had a history of anger issues and was discharged by the Navy in 2011 following gun charges. He was never convicted of the charges.

Hoshko also told Reuters that he was unaware of any issues with misconduct involving Alexis or any possible grievance that could have led to the shooting.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officials have begun releasing the names of some of the fatalities. At least one of the victims was a government contractor.

The names released are:

• Michael Arnold, 59, who worked for LMI, according to the Washington Post.
• Arthur Daniels, 51 
• Sylvia Frasier, 53
• Kathy Gaarde, 62
• John Roger Johnson, 73
• Frank Kohler, 50
• Bernard Proctor, 46
• Vishnu Pandit, 61

More names will be released as families are notified.