David Alexander
Reuters
March 18, 2014
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered new Pentagon security procedures on Tuesday after reviews found last year’s deadly Navy Yard shooting could have been averted if concerns about the gunman’s mental health been properly addressed.
Hagel told a Pentagon news conference the reviews found “troubling gaps” in the Defense Department’s ability to “detect, prevent and respond to instances where someone working for us, a government employee, member of our military, or a contractor, decides to inflict harm on this institution and its people.”
A Navy review of the attack, which killed 12 people, found the gunman’s employer failed to inform the government it had concerns about his mental condition. The report said the Navy itself had earlier failed to properly evaluate and report the behavior of the shooter, Aaron Alexis, who was working for a defense contractor and entered the facility using his access card.
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