The loss of 12 lives, 13 counting the suspect, in the Navy shipyard shootings Monday is tragic. With each killing spree the natural reaction is to search for the motive or the psychological reason for such a horrific event.
Just as important, however, is to ask how the suspect even got into a high-security area in the first place.
The gunman, Aaron Alexis, 34, reportedly gained access to the shipyard by working for a military subcontractor, which allowed him security clearance. Alexis had been in the Navy Reserve and had received an honorable discharge in 2011.
However, Alexis had exhibited a "pattern of misbehavior," including insubordination and unauthorized absences. The Navy had even considered giving Alexis a dishonorable discharge.
As a civilian, he had been arrested on weapons charges. Once he shot out the tires of a neighbor's vehicle and, on another occasion, fired, accidentally he claimed, a shot through the ceiling of his apartment. He had been in an earlier confrontation in the apartment parking lot with his upstairs neighbor about a noise problem.
After all this, he passed a background check by the subcontractor and the government.
Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Alexis has been treated by Veterans Affairs since August and had a host of serious mental problems, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, and had been hearing voices, but the Navy had not declared him mentally unfit, which would have rescinded a security clearance.
In November 2009, Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, killed 13 in a shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas. He, too, had mental problems that the Army overlooked. He shot unarmed U.S. troops who were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.
Most Americans might find it difficult to understand how Alexis - or anyone with his background - could be cleared to work on government bases.
Those who were killed Monday and their families must not be forgotten. Finding a way to prevent another attack is a priority.
Reviewing government background screening procedures of contract employees as well as military personnel seems to be an obvious step.
Original Print Headline: Breach
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