Fatal shooting at Navy Sea Systems Command building in D.C.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/16/active-shooter-at-washington-navy-yard/#ixzz2f4fnyox7

DEVELOPING: At least 10 people have been shot — with multiple fatalities — at a Navy building in Washington, U.S. Navy authorities said Monday.

A Navy official said two shooters were "down" following reports of shots fired at around 8:20 a.m. at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters in southeast Washington. There are conflicting reports on the number of victims and the number of gunmen, although a federal law enforcement official told Fox News that one shooter has died. Police said as many as two additional gunmen may still be at large.

The Associated Press is reporting six fatalities and police sources earlier told The Washington Post that as many as three shooters, including one in military fatigues, were involved in the incident.​

This reads creepily like an NCIS episode from a season or two ago. In the TV show, it was terrorists. Wouldn't be surprised if that's what this turns out to be.

 

No so sure about that. My understanding (and it may be incorrect, given there are several different versions of events as there always are in the short term after events like this) is that NCIS, SPs and D.C. police cornered him on the fourth floor, demanded his surrender, and his response was to step out and open fire. Suicide by cop.

This guy was apparently (again, not sure) working for a defense contractor at Ft. Hood. Odd connection, wouldn't you say?

 

I hate posting back-to-back, but this is important. Has the spin already begun? Never heard of personal psychiatric records being released this quickly ...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/17/active-shooter-at-washington-navy-yard/

Navy veteran Aaron Alexis, who killed 12 people at a Navy building in Washington Monday morning, had been suffering a host of serious mental issues, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.

Alexis had been hearing voices in his head and had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation in the case was continuing.

Alexis, 34, was discharged from the Navy two years ago after serving hitches in Texas and Illinois.​

Let me elucidate: As a licensed addictions counselor, should Mr. Alexis have come to me to seeking services, I would have asked him to sign a series of releases so I could get his mental health records, providing he had no objections to that request. If he did, I wouldn't and couldn't treat him. Once I had the signed waivers, they would be faxed to various agencies that had provided care, including the military. Civilian agencies typically take three to five days to respond to such requests, though they have been known to do a 24-hour turnaround on some occasions. The military takes longer, as much as two weeks, because there has to be assurance that national security interests are not affected by the release of such records.

Yet here, within twelve hours of the shooting, we have "law enforcement officials" revealing Alexis was being treated for paranoia, a sleep disorder and there are hints of other "mental illness" behind the information. If they have indeed released this information, they have, even though posthumously, violated Alexis' rights under HIPAA and, should this include information from past addictions treatment, CFR 42 Part B, which are even stricter guidelines than HIPAA. His family also has rights to prevent the information from being released, if they wish to act on them, even if he did not leave behind releases for them to release the information.

In other words, this is either the fastest turn around in mental health care history, a violation of patient rights that survive the deceased, or it is a coverup. Honestly, I'm not willing to bet against the first, but it is highly unlikely. It is far more likely is is the second, and there is a chance it is the third. As I said, there were reports the man had worked for a defense contractor at Ft. Hood. It doesn't all add up for me, either as a former military officer, or as a health care professional.