D.C. shooter’s boss had called his mom

WASHINGTON — The employer of Aaron Alexis grew so concerned over his erratic behavior on a business trip that it ordered him home for a rest break last month and relayed its worries to his mother, according to a friend.

Melinda Downs, who became acquainted with the Washington Navy Yard shooter in Fort Worth, Texas, said Alexis told her that someone in the Human Resources Department of an Alexandria, Va.-based company, The Experts, had alerted his mother. Alexis expressed a measure of chagrin, she said.

“I can’t believe HR called my mom,” Downs said he told her.

But The Experts, a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor that had employed Alexis for about six months over the past year, called Alexis three days later, summoning him back to work the next day, Downs said.

The company’s concern, coming six weeks before Alexis gunned down 12 people with a sawed-off shotgun in the Navy Yard building where he worked, provided another example of people noticing his bewildering behavior, yet doing nothing that might have prevented his progression to violence.

It also raises questions about whether his behavior was so peculiar that either his employer or authorities should have intervened and prevented his reassignment to other Navy bases where he worked on computer systems.

During a stay in Newport, R.I., employees of a hotel where he stayed had to juggle a succession of incidents that arose at a time when Alexis told police he was hearing voices, and knocking on the doors of other hotel guests trying to find the source of those voices. Eventually, his employer called the Residence Inn in Middletown, according to hotel logs first reported by The New York Times.

“Brenda from The Experts Inc. called re: Mr. Alexis in 407,” a hotel employee wrote in an Aug. 7 notation in the logs, confirmed by The Washington Post.

“She explained that he is unstable and the company is bringing him home. She asked me to check the room (it was vacant) and check him out.”

A company spokesman said they were aware that Alexis was having trouble sleeping and said that after he rested he performed his job without problems.

“During these few days, we understood that Aaron Alexis was having difficulty sleeping and was being disturbed repeatedly by various noises in his hotel surroundings,” said the spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We moved him to a different hotel, after which he took a few days off. He returned to work the following Monday and performed satisfactorily.”

The Experts never notified the Navy about his bizarre behavior, according to a government official familiar with the contract. Navy security would have expected the subcontracting firm to report Alexis to Hewlett-Packard and ultimately to the Navy if the company was concerned enough to require he take a leave of absence, even a short one, the official said.

The Navy did, however, hear from police in Newport, after Alexis called them complaining voices were coming at him from a “microwave machine.” That report did not get passed beyond the naval station’s security office, a Navy official said. Nor did it prompt a Navy review of Alexis’ security clearance or any inquiries to the company.

Experts in the security clearance system said that the standard for whether to report an employee because of problematic behavior is a subjective one but that contractors are urged to consult with their on-site security officer if they are uncertain how to proceed. As a subcontractor, Alexis’ employer probably would have not have had its own security officer in charge of employees with classified access. Rather, it probably would have relied on the security staff of the prime contractor.

“It is subjective, and they have to use a lot of judgment,” said Mark Riley, a former Army officer who works as a private security clearance attorney. “But if you think something’s wrong or out of kilter, you report it and let the security folks make the decision. Better safe than sorry.”

Connie Bertram, a partner in Proskauer Rose’s labor and employment practice, said all companies — contractors or not — have a responsibility to act if an employee makes a threat.

“Before there is an incident of workplace violence, there almost always are signs or prior incidents leading up to it,” she said. “Very often, I think, a company is kicking itself saying, ‘I should have done more.’ “

Contractors are required to report threatening or physically violent behavior by employees with clearances to the government, Bertram said.

“You would have an ongoing obligation to — as things happen in the workplace and outside of the workplace — keep the Office of Personnel Management€ apprised,” she said.

“The problem is, I think, that some contractors have found that it’s a very slow process of having them look into incidents,” she added.

Even if a company plans to fire the employee, she said, it’s advisable to notify the government, in case they’re hired by another contractor or federal agency. “You don’t want to make it somebody else’s problem,” she said.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.