FBI releases terrifying footage of the Navy Yard shooter

New details emerge about alleged shooter Aaron Alexis

Washington Navy Yard shooter
(Image credit: FBI.gov)

In surveillance footage newly released by the FBI, Aaron Alexis, the 34-year-old gunman allegedly responsible for killing 12 people at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., can be seen entering the complex with a case and a backpack, before walking through the halls with a fully assembled sawed-off shotgun.

The FBI also released photos from the scene of the shooting, including one detailing the carvings on his shotgun — which included the phrase "End the torment" — and another showing his backpack hanging in the bathroom stall where he reportedly assembled his gun.

An investigation also found that Alexis acted alone and not, as was previously speculated, with the help of a second shooter or accomplice. The FBI also found "multiple indicators that Alexis held a delusional belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves," which would explain another phrase carved on his shotgun: "My ELF weapon!"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

After a shoot-out with police, investigators found the shotgun and a handgun, believed to have been taken from one of his victims, near Alexis' body.

Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.