Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis Received Government Benefits, Had Mental Issues

Posted on | September 17, 2013 | 82 Comments

The man who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard reportedly received disability benefits, telling a friend in Fort Worth this involved some problem with his feet. Whether or not there was anything wrong with his feet, there was definitely something wrong in his head:

Aaron Alexis seems a study in contradictions: a former Navy reservist, a Defense Department contractor, a convert to Buddhism who was taking an online course in aeronautics. But he also had flashes of temper that led to run-ins with police over shootings in Fort Worth, Texas, and Seattle.
A profile began to emerge Monday of the man authorities identified as the gunman in a mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., that left 13 people dead, including the 34-year-old man. While some neighbors and acquaintances described him as “nice,” his father once told detectives in Seattle that his son had anger management problems related to post-traumatic stress brought on by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He also complained about the Navy and being a victim of discrimination.
U.S. law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that Alexis had been suffering a host of serious mental issues, including paranoia and a sleep disorder. He also had been hearing voices in his head, the officials said. Alexis had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems, the officials said.

More headlines:

Suspect In Navy Yard Attack Previously Arrested
In Seattle For “Anger-Fueled” Shooting
— Seattle Police

Alleged Washington shooter served as Navy
reservist, may have recently lost job
— NBC News

Navy Yard shooter ‘had a pattern of misconduct’
— Los Angeles Times

He was a disgruntled kook who blamed his problems on others. We used to lock up kooks in the loony bin. Now we give them government checks and turn them loose. That’s working out real good, isn’t it?

Category: Crime

Comments

82 Responses to “Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis Received Government Benefits, Had Mental Issues”

RDonlak
September 17th, 2013 @ 11:41 am

RT @MrEvilMatt: Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis Received Government Benefits, Had Mental Issues: The man who killed 12 people a… http://t.…
Unix-Jedi
September 17th, 2013 @ 11:44 am

Dick Gregory is the one with the evul banned assault weaponry and accessories….

http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/cops-nbc-told-dont-use-gun-clip-85497.html#ixzz2GBpyl8k7
rustypaladin
September 17th, 2013 @ 11:52 am

Hearing voices is not a sign of PTSD. And many of us that have deployed feel PTSD is overdiagnosed anyways. If he actually had PTSD and that was a factor so be it. But don’t bet the house on that.
Jordan
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:29 pm

chizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia are mental disorders where you hear voices. Just because he was misdiagnosed doesn’t mean that his mental illness is amusing.

And yeah, I own a couple of guns and my wife carried a pink .22 in her purse.

If my son starts hearing voices, I will get him proper treatment and make sure that he gets the support he needs.

This has jack shit to do with gun ownership. The guy had guns. The guy had mental illness.

Does it matter what the illness is? Mental illness isn’t a choice.

Maybe you’ve never had anyone in your family that’s had some fucked up problems like that. For us city folk, we encounter it everyday.

I think it’s something in the water.

When any of you are ready to have an adult discussion about the terrible problem with mental illness in this country, let me know.

Otherwise, make sure to keep your guns locked safely away from anyone in your family that seems a little “eccentric” or “troubled”.

Maybe I’m too realistic and honest for the neocon way of life or the tea Party. I’m a Reagan Republican, and I’m not ashamed of that. But here, it seems like the only thing to do is be insulted if you disagree with people.

This will be the last comment I’ll make on THIS Mccain’s blog. Back to better venues where adults seem to lead the conversation.
Jordan
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:32 pm

Yes, we both own guns. I’m talking mental illness hear. “Evil” is a relative term. Hearing voices is a symptom of a serious psychiatric condition.

Or wait, is it the devil?

And who are you to say who has PTSD and who doesn’t? We used to call it “shellshocked” when my father went to Nam.

Treat your fellow conservatives with respect. We’re the only ones left to figure out this mess of a country.
Jordan
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:33 pm

schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia are mental disorders where you hear voices. Just because he was misdiagnosed doesn’t mean that his mental illness is amusing.

And yeah, I own a couple of guns and my wife carried a pink .22 in her purse.

If my son starts hearing voices, I will get him proper treatment and make sure that he gets the support he needs.

This has jack shit to do with gun ownership. The guy had guns. The guy had mental illness.

Does it matter what the illness is? Mental illness isn’t a choice.

Maybe you’ve never had anyone in your family that’s had some fucked up problems like that. For us city folk, we encounter it everyday.

I think it’s something in the water.
Jeanette Victoria
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:34 pm

50 years ago this person would have been in a state mental hospital but liberals decided that they must be free to roam among the sane until they harm themselves or someone else.

There is something fundamentally wrong with a society that no longer recolonizes mental illness.
Jordan
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:35 pm

You are the only one here with any morals and this is not a welcoming venue for people with real opinions.
Jeanette Victoria
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:38 pm

After all that is said or written, I feel this says it all:

Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.
— Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Bob Belvedere
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:41 pm

She should call the FBI.
Quartermaster
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:42 pm

OK. Everywhere I’ve been before SIL was son-in-law. Just struck me wrong.
Quartermaster
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:45 pm

There are plenty of Reagan Pubbies here. We have fun, and we tend to mock libtards when they richly deserve it, but no one is making fun of anyone with mental illness.
Quartermaster
September 17th, 2013 @ 12:48 pm

First, it requires a legitimate informed opinion. Second if you come here and try to put down people like the hammer of Thor, you will get called out for it, particularly if the first condition is not met. Act as you have and you will be treated as you have. It’s nearly a 1:1 correspondence. We don’t abide fools easily, so don’t act like one, and you won’t get what you got.
richard mcenroe
September 17th, 2013 @ 1:01 pm

One thing the banners are hoping we’ll overlook is that once again the system didn’t do its job. LE and the courts HAD Alexis, REPEATEDLY, and if they had done their jobs he would have had the conviction on his record that would have blocked his purchase of the shotgun he used.

But they didn’t, and once again they’ll be pressuring us to give up our rights for their incompetence.
Matthew W
September 17th, 2013 @ 1:17 pm

Dude, I have no idea where you are going on this.
Good night Gracie
Benjamin Dover
September 17th, 2013 @ 1:32 pm

A propensity for sodomy has long been recognized as a symptom of serious mental illness.
Eastwood Ravine
September 17th, 2013 @ 1:50 pm

Another tragedy that could have been prevented had it not been for “political correct”-fascist message that has invaded the culture.

Sometimes I have to wonder if these incidents of gun violence are false flags designed to push the collectivist message.
EarlScruggs
September 17th, 2013 @ 3:26 pm

I told her that. She doesn’t want to be hassled by the FBI – she works in security and she is not a fan of the agency.
EarlScruggs
September 17th, 2013 @ 4:07 pm

Okay, convinced her, she called the tip line.

I am thinking that maybe he wore a uniform in and ditched it – that would explain the “second shooter” in the khaki uniform with the long gun.
Rule 5: Miss America’s Guns and Ink Manifesto | Regular Right Guy
September 17th, 2013 @ 4:33 pm

[…] I’ll even admit that some graffiti is interesting, but the numbers are either disconnected or weren’t real to begin with, and huffer art on freeway overpasses is always in dangerous gun-free zones. […]
wizguy123
September 17th, 2013 @ 4:38 pm

RT @rsmccain: Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis Received Government Benefits, Had Mental Issues http://t.co/bu44JNs3CM Hat-tip @ericdondero
thatMrGguy
September 17th, 2013 @ 7:29 pm

Navy Yard Shooter Aaron Alexis Received Government Benefits, Had Mental Issues http://t.co/pAYjreWIy2
Evi L. Bloggerlady
September 17th, 2013 @ 9:11 pm

You are being a bit snide and condescending–which is why I responded with snark. I am not sure how mentally unstable this individual was. We will probably never know since he was killed. But when I said evil, if someone can distinguish what they are doing and then goes proceed to kill a dozen people because they are pissed off…that person is evil.

If the shooter was so delusional that he did not know he was killing human beings and what he was doing was wrong, then he was insane.

Nothing really relative about it.
Bob Belvedere
September 17th, 2013 @ 9:36 pm

Thanks for doing that.
rmnixondeceased
September 17th, 2013 @ 9:38 pm

Seconded!
Bob Belvedere
September 17th, 2013 @ 9:39 pm

Let us also not forget to ‘thank’ Leftist groups like the ACLU.
DaveO
September 17th, 2013 @ 10:00 pm

Pretty sure 13 dead = pretty mentally unstable. And he never saw the elephant. But, it’s important for the libs to delegitimize veterans along with others who love this country. Patriotism is a mental illness, according to the press and their paymasters.
Besides this being a case of a mentally ill person killing the innocent like Loughner, Holmes & Lanza, this particular killer brings up something very important: psychiatric medicine in the military and civilian worlds SUCKS!
DaveO
September 17th, 2013 @ 10:07 pm

Four points:
1. Security at the base was complacent. DoD will now over react and put their charges in more danger.
2. A mentally ill person with several gun-related incidents was allowed to skate by the police. At no time did the police “Serve & Protect.” They just did the barest minimum.
3. Parents, family, friends, and co-workers didn’t do a damn thing.
4. Just like PVT Manning: how did this dude have a clearance after the first gun-related incident, or any of his workplace episodes? Seriously?
bet0001970
September 18th, 2013 @ 7:19 am

Not even sure I should post this…but this officially just became a non-story.
Durasim
September 18th, 2013 @ 10:38 am

David Sirota must really be gnashing his teeth, because the perpetrator wasn’t a conservative white male.
But fear not. I’m sure that he and his ilk will find some leftist gloss for the affair. Societal racism, economic hopelessness, or whatever.
Durasim
September 18th, 2013 @ 10:59 am

Liberals love to recognize mental illness…as an excuse and get out of jail free card.
And they have an expansive definition of “mental illness” when they want to use it as a reason to obstruct criminal punishment. Not just things like schizophrenia, but now defendants claiming that they raped and murdered children because they were “depressed.”
Not to mention that liberals have been agitating for years to have drug use considered a prima facie mental illness excuse to get out of punishment.
But when you ask them if we can confine and restrain such people before they might harm other people, the liberals consider that unjust oppression and stigmatization. They only trumpet mental illness for the “get out of jail” part, not the “men in white coats” part.
Alessandra
September 19th, 2013 @ 6:30 am

Often times as well, our culture now proclaims that drugs “solve” mental illness – therefore this stupid mantra that anyone and everyone should be drugged and it’s OK. Drugs don’t cure mental illness and they never will. Drugs can reduce or stabilize detrimental and anti-social symptoms, even having the effect of allowing the individual to then improve in regard to other issues (like anti-depressants), but drugs do not deal with root causes of mental illness. Unless people get the real psychological treatment, they can easily go from bad to worse and then anything can happen.