WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller is asking for all West Virginians to pray for those impacted in Monday’s tragic shooting in Washington D.C.
Thirteen people were killed including the gunman after a shooting at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters in southeast Washington.
“We are becoming far too familiar with senseless, tragic violence,” said Rockefeller in a statement released Monday. “This is the seventh shooting since 2009, and these repeated incidents demand our attention.”
It all began around 8 a.m. when the suspected gunman, being identified by authorities as Aaron Alexis, a Navy veteran from New York, opened fire in several hallways and the cafeteria in the Navy building.
Rockefeller called the shooting a “horrendous act, made all the more terrible because it happened in a place and to people who serve our nation and work to protect us.”
Alexis was later killed during a shootout with police. Authorities believe a second person may have been involved. They continue investigate.
“While the details are being sorted out, I hope you’ll join with Sharon and me in offering our deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers to those affected by today’s horrific act of violence,” stated Rockefeller.