FBI releases surveillance video of Navy Yard shooter

IWASHINGTON - Reuters

Alexis believed he was controlled by electromagnetic waves, officials said. AFP photo

The FBI released surveillance video and photos of Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis on Sept.25 and said he believed electromagnetic waves had been controlling him for months before the rampage that killed 12 people.

There are no signs that Alexis, 34, was targeting anybody in the Sept. 16 shooting at the Navy Yard in southeast Washington, said Valerie Parlave, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Washington field office.

“We have found relevant communications on his electronic media, which referenced the delusional belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency electromagnetic waves for the past three months,” Parlave told a news conference.

My ‘ELF’ weapon

Surveillance video released by the FBI showed Alexis driving a rented blue Toyota Prius into a Navy Yard parking garage shortly before 8 a.m. Carrying a backpack, he then entered the Naval Sea Systems Command building, site of the shootings, through a door. The brief video also shows Alexis, armed with a Remington shotgun and wearing dark clothing, descending a stairway and walking along corridors in a crouch position, weapon held at the ready.

Parlave said Alexis, a government technology contractor, had in his possession the shotgun, which had a sawed-off barrel and stock, and a pistol he obtained during the shooting.

Scratched into the shotgun were the phrases, “End to the torment,” “Not what y’all say,” “Better off this way” and “My ELF weapon,” photos released by the FBI showed. “ELF” is believed to stand for “extremely low frequency.”

Alexis, who acted alone, was killed by police on the third floor after exchanging fire with them for an hour, Parlave said.