of the three individuals brought to the hospital center. the first individual, as you know, is a hospital police officer, that gentleman is currently in surgery. he has been in surgery for several hours. we expect that surgery to continue. he is the gentleman who has gunshot wounds to his lower extremitie extremities. so he is in surgery right now. he's doing well. he is expected to make a good recovery. the two other individuals, first one i'll tell you about is an individual who has a shoulder wound. she is in surgery right now, expected to be in surgery for a couple hours. we actually spoke with her beforehand. she is in very, very good spirits. she actually was ordering the doctors and nurses around. we told her we were in charge here.

so we were joking with her about how she is doing. she is in good spirits, in surgery right now and expect her to have a full recovery. the third individual will not have surgery. she is a very, very lucky young lady. she actually has an injury to her hand and to her head. but the bullet actually did not penetrate the skull, means it did not penetrate the bone. so she is obviously -- has suffered a significant wound, but she will recover without surgery. and we have done a couple of procedures to take care of her hand and her head. she is in very good spirits. her parents are with her. and she is doing well. so we have three victims of the navy yard shootings who are with us. they're doing well and i expect all three of them to make a full recovery. be happy to take any questions. >> do you expect to get anymore patients? >> we have been in contact with

the individuals at the navy yard, and although i will tell you there is always a possibility as they're going through the building, floor by floor, it does not appear at this time, because there has been so many hours in between, it does not appear that we'll be getting anymore individuals who lived through this devastating gun shooting. >> were any of the fatalities brought here to the medical center? >> no, they weren't. >> doctor, did the providers see any challenges for the officer recovering, walking, functionality? >> we are concerned about that. so the question was, do we see any challenges with the officer walking? we are concerned about that. and quite frankly, we're going to have to wait 24 hours, and do an assessment at that time. and have a clear understanding of what his injuries are. >> dins you do see a lot of gunshot victims here, how

unusual is it for someone to be hit multiple times by a semiautomatic weapon and make a full recovery, as you're predicting? >> well, as you said, we see significant number of gunshot victims here at the hospital center. and i will tell you that between working with our partners that are the first responders who are excellent at initial stabilization and then bringing them here, we actually are very, very successful in having people live through these multiple gunshot wounds. not always. there are a number of victims, but we're very good, very highly trained here, and i would tell you that we have an excellent record and recovery so we do see this. the other thing that i would mention to you is that we have a very close relationship with the military physicians. and it's not unusual that we have navy or army physicians who are rotating through washington hospital center. they work with us, they work in our trauma bay.

and it's an opportunity for them to keep their skills up when they are in a noncombat situation. so we have a close and multiyear relationship with the military. so unfortunately, we are providing care to some of their colleagues right now. but it is a group that we're used to working with. >> can you give us some idea as to the hospital's preparedness? because this is washington, level one trauma here. hospital -- you know, big national reputation. are you always prepared for this sort of thing? >> so the question is, talk a little bit about our preparedness. let me start by saying we are prepared. we are prepared 24/7, 365 days a year. we are prepared. we are the go-to place. we are not only for trauma, but burn, our multiple other medical services. but we are the -- always available. i can tell you a little bit about our preparedness. we have a trauma team on-site,

always available. and they were here today, obviously. and we also in our operating room keep two rooms that are open in sort of a rotating fashion. so we have a room that's always open for general trauma, and then we have a room that's open for orthopedic trauma. we always -- also have orthopedic trauma available. we have all of the other specialties you would need. so, for example, with young woman who had the injury to her head, we had neurosurgery immediately available. so we're here, we're available. and as i had said earlier, we actually expected and had hoped not because you hope that anyone is injured, but you hope that people survive, we had wanted to take care of many more people than we have so far. >> earlier you said all three were in critical condition. have any of those conditions changed? >> i would tell you that they're stable at this time. they are going through surgery, two of the three are going through surgery. but they are in stable condition. and we have had time to assess

their injuries, and to assess what their -- what their state is, what their medical condition is, and i would tell you all three are stable. >> what is the complexity of the surgery that the officer is going through right now? >> the metropolitan police officer for privacy, i don't want to go no too much detail. but i can tell you there are multiple surgeons who are involved, because there are injuries to the blood vessels, as well as to the bones. so it's a complex surgery to repair his legs. >> have the victims been able to communicate with investigators? >> so i would tell you that all three of the victims came in talking. they came in, they were speaking from the get-go. i have actually personally talked to all three of them. i would tell you that the police officer when he came in, he was most concerned about being able to talk to his mother. and wanted to make sure that he was able to speak to her before he went into surgery. you know, you always have to

take care of mom. and the second individual, very worried we got ahold of her husband. her husband is here. i've spoken to the two of them. she is the one who i was kidding around, who has been giving orders. and the third individual actually, she -- her father went to the navy yard. i don't know where from. but her father went to the navy yard and found her, and he actually -- he did not come in the helicopter with her, but he actually made it to the navy yard and found his daughter, so remarkable story. >> can you give us ages on these three individuals? >> you know what, i'm sorry, i don't have exact ages on them. >> did they talk about what happened at all, the incident -- any memory of that? >> you know what, we don't bring up the incident as we're tre treating them. this is a horrific incident for them. if they want to talk, we talk with them. but we don't bring it up with

them. i know the investigators did talk with them a little bit. i know they had to answer questions for the investigators. but we're all about what can we do to get you healing and get things going. i would tell you that the most common question that i've heard from them is how their colleagues are doing. they actually have specific concerns and ask about different individuals. they're very worried about their colleagues. it's the only question that i've heard,it the only conversation i've heard about the incident. >> the people you just mentioned -- so her father found her before the pair med ex did? >> no, not before the paramedics. i think she was there and getting care, but he actually went to to the scene and found her. so somehow there was communication and he was at the scene. she was receiving medical care, but she -- he made it -- he made it to the navy yard. >> you say they're asking about their colleagues, and so all three are aware or are they, that their colleagues have also, you know -- suffered injuries,

if not been killed? >> we have not shared that with them. and so i would tell you that -- now two of them are undergoing surgery right now. and so two of them are in the operating room. they're under anesthesia. but i would tell you that we do not share information that we cannot verify. and at the time they were coming in, there were so many reports as to the number of casualties and what was going on that that was not shared with them at that time. >> can you say what -- condition the two women were in at the navy yard? >> i don't know the department. i actually heard it from the secretary of the navy, but not -- like supplies or something like that? >> were they civilians? >> they were they were civilians. yes, sir. [ inaudible question ] >> so the gentlemen who were

here with me were -- -- so your secretary of the navy, ray maybusiness, the gentleman to his right was admiral jonathan grainert, chief of operations and the gentleman directly to his right is a assistant secretary of the navy. sean -- hmmm. green? we'll get you his name. we'll get you his name. >> can we ask -- our next update might be when? >> i'm going to look at my public relations people and see if we're going to have an update tonight. i'll tell you -- let me tell you the stage we're at right now. the individual who is not going to go to surgery, she has been brought up to a surgical bed, and she needs to rest for the rest of the evening. the two that are under going surgery right now will go through a recovery, and then they will again a decision will

be made whether they need to be in an intensive care unit or in a regular bed. and they'll go to that place. i don't expect that there will be anything other than a recovery going on with these individuals. i'll have our public relations group let you know if there is going to be another update. what i would tell you, we're about the business of getting them healed and back on their feet right now. >> doctor, can you talk about, have the investigators taken some of the bullet fragments and other evidence that may have been present, and do they plan to also try to speak to some of these victims again after they're out of surgery and -- >> so the question is, was any evidence taken. and i'm not able to address that question. we're asked not to speak about any evidence. and in regards to will they be interviewed, the answer is they absolutely will be interviewed further. that's initially a medical decision as to when they're stable to answer more questions. and i would suspect that all of

them will be interviewed either later tonight or tomorrow. >> can you talk about the normal procedure that the hospital would follow in any shooting? >> sure. >> at what point the investigators would come to take the evidence? >> sure. absolutely. under a normal procedure, what happens is -- and i have to say very collaborative working with mpd and the other officers that are within this region. they're very professional. when they come to med star trauma, what they typically do is, they'll work with us, and they'll ask our permission if they can address the individual before they go to surgery. if we say yes, they talk with the individual. if we say no. they wait until afterwards. i would say that they're very professional, very specific. they get the information they need. and then they'll be back. as far as chain of evidence, it's not unusual during a situation like this where the police again will ask permission

but will take photographs, if allowed. and then there's a chain of evidence in surgery where if a fragment or some evidence is removed, it will it go through a chain of evidence passing from the surgeon to the officers. so that is typical event that will occur. there's also -- and, again, we have a number of things we have to watch. but respecting their privacy, there may be a need for the officers to examine their clothes. oftentimes there's bullet holes or wounds. so, again, with their permission, that would be another area that might be examined, might be photographed. or might be taken as evidence. so i would say that's a usual situation. >> earlier you said there might be an indication of semiautomatic weapons having been used. any indication of a shotgun? >> so i don't have any

information yet regarding the type of gun used. i say -- when i said earlier that it may have been semi automatic, there was actually a comment made by one of the victims that they had heard multiple gunfire in a row. and they believed there was some automatic or semiautomatic characteristic to it. so, again, it's a victim comment, not something that we would address right now. >> we're told there may have been three weapons. ak-47, a shotgun and a pistol. >> i have heard similar information. we're not ready to confirm anything. >> was the officer shot in one leg or both legs? >> both. >> you and your staff see a lot of trauma. but is there anything about this event today that was even more? >> you know what, we see a lot of trauma. and you know, sometimes it's

just, you know -- accidents that occur that we get to help people with, because they're accidents. and then you see what i call senseless trauma. and there is -- there's something evil in our society that we as americans have to work to try and eradicate. i -- i have to say, i may see this everyday, i may, you know, be the chief medical officer of a very large trauma center. but there's something wrong here when we have these multiple shootings, these multiple injuries. there is something wrong. and the only thing that i can say is we have to work together to get rid of it. i would like you to put my trauma center out of business. i really would.

i would like to not be an expert on gunshots and not to be an expert on this. we are -- we do it well. very experienced surgeons. but, quite frankly, i would rather they were doing their surgery on other things. and you know, it's a great city. it's a great country. and we have to work together to get rid of this. because we just cannot have, you know, one more shooting with, you know, so many people killed. we've got to figure this out. we've got to be able to help each other. we're dealing right now with three innocent people. but my prayers and my thoughts go out to those people who have died as a result of today. and, you know, their families and what they're going to have to go through. so i have to say, you know, it's

a challenge to all of us. let's get rid of this. this is not america. this is not washington, d.c. this is not good. so we have got to work to get rid of this. >> as a doctor, what do you think is wrong here, as you said? >> what do i think is wrong? you would have to -- you would have to keep us talking here for many hours. you know, i grew up with -- in a time when people were mad at each other, they put their fist up and they -- and they hit each other. and for some reason now people have gone from fists to knives to guns. >> we have been listening to the chief medical officer, dr. jan orlowski, washington medical center. now we go to a police press conference in washington.

>> congresswoman eleanor holmes norton. let me say again, we all know this is a horrific tragedy. certainly one of the worst in recent memory, and i don't know if we can ever remember anything quite like this here in the city. we know these kinds of things have happened in other places and other cities in america. but nothing like this here in the district of columbia. let me begin by saying that my heart, like that of our entire administration and others, goes out to the families. those who have been victimized. you know, who left home to go to work this morning, thinking they were going to, you know, work on behalf of our nation, working at the navy yard, working for the navy. only to have something horrific like this to occur. secondly, i want to thank all the first responders, all the law enforcement agencies and all

the dozens, hundreds of people who have done such a sterling job today to deal with this horrific tragedy. i'll be followed by chief lanier and then valerie parlave, chief chambers, if she chooses to speak, and then congresswoman norton. first of all, i think you know earlier today we talked about the possibility of there being two other suspects. one of those has been ruled out. that gentleman has been identified and is no longer a suspect. he's been talked to by law enforcement officials, and there's no reason to continue any views that he may have been involved in this. there is still yet another person who was identified earlier. that was a person in the video who was wearing a drab olive uniform around 50 years of age. around 5'10", african-american man and we are continuing to

look for him to determine what if any involvement he may have had. there are many people who have asked us whether we think there is a -- terrorism involved in this. we don't know what the motive is at this stage. we obviously will continue to seek information about what the motive is. but we don't have any reason at this stage to suspect terrorism. but certainly it has not been ruled out. we now have a total of 13 fatalities, including the shooter. we had one additional since we last convened. one of the victims who died at a hospital as a result of the wounds he suffered. we have not -- we don't even know most of us ourselves, the identities of the victims at this stage. so we have no information to offer about that. and, of course, we would not do that until we have been able to

assure that their families and loved ones have been notified. so those who may have questions about the identity of the victims, there's nothing we can offer in that regard. at this point. two other pieces of information, and then i'll ask chief lan ear to come up. we want to urge once again people who live in this area to stay out of the area. there is absolutely no reason to come down here. especially since we continue to seek information about the person that i mentioned earlier. to try to rule in or rule out his involvement in this horrific incident. and then finally, for those who asked -- many asked us about the washington nationals baseball game this evening. that has been postponed and has been rescheduled for 1:00 tomorrow. i guess they'll play a double header, 1:00 tomorrow. and then 7:05 tomorrow evening. so with that, that information as an update, let me now ask

chief lanier to come up and provide some additional input. >> thank you. as the mayor indicated, this is still a very active law enforcement scene, so there's still a lot of activity going on. we do realize that we still have to move people through the city and around the city. it is now rush hour, approaching rush hour. as of right now, i can say in terms of traffic flow, we want to keep people obviously as far away from the area where we're actively investigating as possible. but we have now opened 295, 395 and 695. we're asking people to avoid the area around the nats'park and also m street will remain closed from south capitol to 11th street southeast. those are the areas we're asking people to avoid. this is an ongoing investigation. we are continuing to ask our oh residents and communities and businesses in the immediate area to shelter in place. and avoid the areas mentioned until we finish doing what we

have to do. we are hoping in the next couple hours to have information one way or the other whether we can conclusively say we have all suspects or persons involved in this accounted for. there are some additional updates that have been going out in terms of the person that has been identified as a shooter in this case. that information will be shared by the fbi. we are still asking for any information from the public. we have given contact information, which i'm sure the fbi will repeat. but still, anybody who has information to pass on, please continue to pass that along to the fbi in this case, as we're continuing to investigate. so with that said, i'll turn it over to val and let her give an update on the suspect we do know. >> valley parlave, assistant director in charge of the washington field office of the

fbi. p-a-r-l-a-v-e. we can confirm the deceased shooter from this morning has been identified as 34-year-old aaron alexis of ft. worth, texas. we have posted photographs of mr. alexis on our website, fbi.gov. and we ask anyone with information about him to contact us at 1-800-call-fbi. no piece of information is too small. we are looking to learn everything we can about his recent movements, his contacts and his associates. this remains a very active investigation. we currently have our evidence response team moving in to process the scenes where the shootings took place. we will also continue to run down every lead, and we will continue to work together on this investigation with our law enforcement partners. again, we ask the public to look at the photos of the deceased shooter and to contact the fbi with any and all information. thank you.

>> is there any indication -- >> can you hold the questions until we get to the finish? okay, thank you. chief? >> thank you for the opportunity just to say what you're seeing here is the teamwork that goes into every law enforcement and public safety enterprise here in the d.c. area every day. and as you'll learn, the heroism of a number of different entities and their officers did make a difference in today's outcome, and as the story unfolds, we'll learn more and be able to share more with you. thank you. i'm just come from the house of representatives. it's not on lockdown. i understand the senate is on lockdown. of course, the house is not in session today. when the house reconvenes tomorrow, i will lead a moment of silence for yet another heartbreak in our city for the

victims. and their families. we take an attack on a federal facility and our city personally. it's an attack, not just on the facility, it's an attack on our city. it's an attack on our country. i do want to say that the facility itself is one of the most secure facilities in the district of columbia. we have a long relationship with the naval sea systems command since we worked to bring it to its present location, which started the revival of the entire m street corridor. which is now a thriving corridor. we hope that once the investigation is done, once we get back to normal, that the navy yard will be run as it has been run ever since the naval

sea system's command got there. very secure facility and yet it has an event center and the organizations in the district of columbia and region have events there. almost every evening. so they have been able to learn to live with the district and yet be a secure facility. meanwhile, i ask everyone to with hold judgment on what happened. this is really a revolving event, and i want to congratulate and thank mayor and the federal officials for keeping us as well-informed as they could. thank you very much. >> thank you, congresswoman. questions? >> mr. mayor -- >> start here. >> mr. mayor, is there any indication that the dead gunman had a military background? >> i don't know of one. perhaps -- chief or val, do you know?

>> i think all the information that we want to release on the gunman will be included on information on fbi.gov. and beyond that, we're not going to share information at this time. >> do you know how he got in the building? >> just a minute. raise your hand. >> do you have any idea how the gunman got into the building? >> i don't think we know that information. and frankly, this is a continuing, evolving investigation, and there's just certain information we're not prepared to release at this stage, even if we know the answers. >> you told me earlier you had four wounded, twelve dead, now thirteen dead. does that mean you have three wounded? what are the total number of casualties? >> there's 13 people who are dead. and then there are probably a dozen or more who are wounded. but, again, we're not prepared to say what all the reasons are. some of them may have been hurt, if i can put it that way, reasons other than being shot. we'll release that information as we know what it is. yes.

>> just to confirm, is there a second gunman on the loose right now? >> we don't know that there is a second gunman on the loose. we know there is a person who was identified very early in this process. in fact, there were two. one of them has been ruled out. the other person has certainly not been ruled in as someone who was involved in this horrific incident. but we're trying to find him to get further information. >> you described a video that this person was seen -- was it a security video? >> i don't think we're prepared to -- there's a lot of questions associated with this investigation at this stage that are best left unanswered. one, because we may only have partial information, or they may affect the outcome of the investigation. >> do you know whether the gunman took his own life? >> no, i don't think so. >> shooting with police officers. >> can you give a time line of how this started and how it ended? [ inaudible question ] >> the first call for metro

police arrived, and within literally two to three minutes, metropolitan police officers were on the scene. now, internal security had already engaged, identified and engaged the suspect. we already had victims down at that point. within seven minutes, active shooter teams inside the building moving through the building. there was multiple engagements with the suspect that was eventually deceased. both metropolitan police and park police, our preliminary information got into a final gun battle with the suspect that is deceased. so -- but there were multiple incidents within that time frame. in which there was a gun fight with a suspect that was deceased. >> we've heard this was just something -- this was one of the worst things they have ever seen. can you describe what they found? >> sure, one of the worst things we have seen in washington, d.c. as officers moved through the

building, they were making transmissions and keeping command informed as to what they were coming across as they went through. multiple victims. there was gunfire still going on. this was what we train for, we were able to pull active shooter teams together. and compliments to the partners here in the national capital region. we were able to pull disparate officers from different agencies and get them in a single building within seven minutes. there's no question he would have kept shooting. >> how long did it take to take him down? >> the active shooter teams, these were officers in their blues, not in s.w.a.t. gear and they had ar-15s and they're trained to go in there, is that right? >> the officers engaged in the first deployment in there are patrol officers that are in uniform patrol to include the officers that were engaged in the last what appears to be the last gun fight. uniformed patrol officers on routine patrol that responded to the call. on the scene within meninutes. so i think the years of training and practicing and coordinating with the partners has been --

>> we'll take two more questions. two more questions. >> can you give us a ballpark on the number of rounds that he may have fired? >> no. there's -- there's just so many questions i can't give you an exact times right now. obviously, there's still a lot of ongoing investigation before we get to the kind of summary. we're not going to comment on evidence, number of rounds fired. we're not going to comment on any details of any evidence recovered. and we're certainly not going to comment on after-accident type things right now. we've got police officers still actively engaged and still working in threat. so all that will come later. we will come back in two hours. we will do one more two-hour. one more two-hour briefing and then we'll do another and then -- four hours later. >> how he got in. [ inaudible question ] >> i.d. did he have an i.d. >> yes, you get the last question. >> how long did it take to put down the shooter? >> we're not going to comment on that right now. >> thank you all. we'll be back at 6:00. it thank you all very much. >> you've just been listening to a news conference with the mayor

of washington, d.c., the chief of police, cathy lanier. valerie parlave. the number killed in a shooting rampage this morning at the navy yard in washington to at least 13. that, of course, includes the shooter. we also saw for the first time an image of the alleged gunman. 34-year-old aaron alexis. for more now, i'm joined by nbc's craig melvin. craig, the chief of police, chief lanier, said that they were still actively seeking one other individual. originally, it was thought that the shooter himself was supported by two others. but they have ruled out one individual. they're still looking in terms of their active investigation for another. what do we know about this other individual? >> well, you know, i'm glad you brought that up, because several hours ago we were told they were looking for two people in their

40s or 50s. one white guy, one black guy, both wearing military outfits. and beret-style caps, as well. we just found out from the police chief there right now they are looking only for a black male, somewhere in his 40s or 50s, who fits that description i just mentioned, around 5'10". we can tell you that the area where we are right now in southeast d.c. in the shadow of nationals park, about two-and-a-half miles from the white house, we can tell you that the lockdown here is being honored. we have not seen a great deal of tourist traffic, pedestrian traffic. the only cars that seem to be going and coming are emergency officials, an ambulance about to pass and also a number of cop cars we have seen go by over the past few hours, oftentimes with the sirens on. we can tell you there have been a number of buses. we have probably seen about 12 d.c. metro buses.

some of the buses have been empty. some of the buses have been packed. and they have been packed with people presumably who worked at the navy yard, and also we have noticed folks wearing fbi jackets on those buses, as well. i had the opportunity to talk to one man who just left the navy yard. he was actually going to catch one of those buses, because we're told that officials have given everyone who works there, the navy yard. they have given them free transportation home, no matter where they live, whether it's a metro ticket or bus it ticket. they're even giving out cab fare, we're told, by the gentleman trying to catch one of those buses. i also talked to him a little bit about the scene inside the navy yard this morning. he did not work inside the building where it happened. but worked at an adjacent building. and i said, was it chaotic? did you hear screaming? and he said no. he said he heard some gunshots. and then he heard one or two screams, but then after that, it was quiet for a while. and he said that, you know, once this shelter in place command

was given, they stayed for several hours. and they were watching the news coverage unfold. he also told me he does not know and did not know anyone else who knew the 34-year-old gunman, martin. >> this 34-year-old gunman, aaron alexis, now deceased, we understand thus far that he was a contractor, that he was armed with at least three weapons. what else do we know about mr. alexis? >> not a great deal. in fact, what you just said is about all we know. although according to the news conference they just wrapped up there a few moments ago, the fbi says they're going to be putting some additional information on their website. but we can tell you, based on some folks who we have talked to here, investigators are going to spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening and probably the next few days, as well, talking to anyone who may have had any type of contact with mr. alexis, with aaron alexis from ft. worth, texas. we can tell you the

investigators are going through cell phone records, they're going through any type of contact that he may have had with other folks, trying to find out a little bit more about him. and hopefully at some point a little bit more about a possible motive, as well. >> craig melvin, live at the scene. thank you so much, craig. just before we went to craig, we were following the press conference led by the mayor of washington, vincent gray, and the chief of police. but prior to that, and the beginning of our hour, we heard from the chief medical officer at the washington hospital center. dr. jan orlowski. here's what she had to say. >> there is something evil in our society. i may, you know, be the chief medical officer of a very large trauma center. but there is something wrong here. when we have these multiple shootings, these multiple injuries, there is something wrong. and the only thing that i can say is we have to work together

to get rid of it. i would like you to put my trauma center out of business. >> we're joined by nbc's luke russert now, who is with us from near the hospital. luke, dr. orlowski also said, it's a great city, a great country. we've got to get rid of this. we have to help each other. she went on to express her prayers and thoughts for those who died. and she said this is not america, this is not washington, d.c. this is not good. i hate to contradict the learned doctor, but sadly, this is america. isn't it? >> it is, martin. and it's something that's very much a common presence here in washington, d.c., a city that's had the effects of urban violence throughout the last few decades. i've been up here my whole life and you turn on the 11:00 news and hear about shootings, but never at this scale. and usually the victims are brought behind me, the washington hospital center, as the doctor talked about, the best trauma center in the region

for these types of injuries. they were the center that got the three folks today. one of who was a metropolitan police officer, and what the doctor said, some words -- made me choke up personally, this officer still in surgery right now who was shot in the legs and going through a very difficult time, is expected to pull through. said to the doctors beforehand, please tell my mom i'm okay. the doctor was able to have some conversations with the other two victims who worked for the navy, the secretary of the navy, mr. ray maybis was on site to pay his respects. they're also expected to pull through. and martin, i'll just sort of put this in context. where this happened today is not some isolated military base. it's very much in a thriving city center. right on this area that's great greatly jentery filed. >> the m street corridor. >> reporter: the m street corridor. >> go ahead. >> reporter: it's packed with a lot of folks working in offices

around there, vibrant lunch hour, metro stops. this is a real thriving city area where this happened. and martin, one thing i'll say to you is, we in d.c., we always live through motorcades rushing around, streets being shut down, real high threat level assessment. but from talking to folks here at the hospital center, the erie sort of thing that came to folks' lips, wow, this reminds me of 9/11. d.c. has not had a massive, horrific incident like this, the sniper shootings were certainly horrific the year after. but an isolated single incident like this since that horrific day. and that's what immediately a lot of the folks at the hospital behind me were brought towards. but, look, it's been a very tragic day here in the district. we can say the good news from where we are, martin, all three victims that were brought here are going to pull through. although as the doctor said, they were hoping for more victims, those victims did not come, because they were dead. >> luke russert, live in

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delegate eleanor holmes norton was at the news conference just now with the mayor and city's police chief. we're glad to say eleanor holmes norton joins us on the phone. good afternoon, ma'am. >> good afternoon, martin. >> you'll be leading a moment of silence tomorrow when the house reconvenes. but i have to say that when i watched you speaking at that press conference, you sounded wearied by the fact that you were representing constituents once again who had been victims

of gun violence. >> and this time, martin, a gun violent attack so very close to the congress. one wonders if the -- isn't it interesting, the congress isn't here today. the senate has gone on lockdown. the house is not, because the house is still adjourned until tomorrow. i wonder how members who have -- who stopped on the last go-round of the gun bill would approach today. where the -- [ inaudible ] the mayor reported there were 13, including the gunman who are dead. and many more were injured, and we just don't have a final count on the ending. some by gunshots, some hurt in other ways. >> how would you describe the feelings, the emotions of your constituents today, as you've spoken to them?

>> well, i -- my constituents today would really feel this -- the neighborhood where this has occurred. this is a neighborhood that was very close to the capitol, but forsaken, because most of the land was owned by the federal government, and it had gone into disuse. i got the naval -- to come to m street when they were about to go west. so many of the employees lived in this region, and i was able to get it located on m street. that started the revival of the old navy yard, and a revival of the entire m street area, a whole new neighborhood mixed use. so for residents, this was -- this neighborhood has been a sign of hope, and rejuvenation. of the nation's capital, the

whole neighborhood brought back to life by federal facilities. first the naval command, then the department of transportation. after that, there were some federal land, i got a bill through that is allowing private interests to build on that federal land, and finally the city has put the ballpark at the other end. so you can see, this is a very definition of a thriving, urban neighborhood. and the naval common is one of the most secure facilities in this town. and yet residents could come back and forth with the proper identification. and in the evenings, there would be many events held in their new facility for events they went out for the city to come in and use. so we felt at one with this facility, recognizing it was secure, but they found a way to

accommodate. >> and yet i have to say to you that that's what's doubly shocking here. this is a naval base of 3,000 members of staff we have armed, protected security. and yet even at a location like this, someone has got access with something like three firearms, we believe, an ar-15, handgun and shotgun and wreaked havoc once again. >> the shooter's name has been identified, but not how he got in. now, i can tell you this, martin. i don't care who he was. a member of congress i've known well in this area, you have got to show your i.d. to get into that building. there is -- there is some word that he may have been a contractor. there are many contractors that work with the naval sea systems command. that has not been confirm. but i can tell you this.

he did not just walk in off the street. >> no. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton, thank you very much for joining us so soon after that press conference. >> always a pleasure, martin. the president took a moment to share some remarks about this among's tragedy himself. >> we still don't know all the facts, but we do know that several people have been shot, and some have been killed. so we are confronting yet another mass shooting. and today it happened on a military installation in our nation's capital. >> for more on yet another mass shooting as the president put it, i'm joined by msnbc contributor, goldie taylor and political strategist, angela rai. goldy, has a former marine, what more could you tell us about this sort of facility. as a civilian, my assumption is this would be a highly protective community where it would be very difficult for someone to get in. >> it absolutely is a highly protective facility, as are all

domestic and foreign military installations post 9/11. when i was enlisted, i lived on what they called an open base where all you had to do was show your driver's license and you would be free to enter the base. there are very few, if any, of those kinds of bases left. the navy yard is one of those with multiple layers inside of the facility itself, it is sort of mapped out like a maze. it really is a lretrofitted former navy ship yard where they produce large amounts of ordinances up until world war ii. this was reconfigured as a central command for the navy, as a place for the marine corps training institute, also located there. but it is largely a civilian facility with a -- the balance a little different in this one. there are more civilians based there than there are, you know, enlisted officers who are based there. so this is a little different than, say, a ft. bragg or camp

lejeune kind of facility. but highly secure, nonetheless. >> and yet, as i understand it, goldy, you could get on to this place by showing i.d. but there were no metal detecting resources or anything like that in order to get on. >> sure. this is about the eyeball. making sure that the identification matches the person who is holding it. and so you know, that is really the best kind of precaution you could really take is the eyeball. but, you know, weapons that this gentleman had today, we don't know how he obtained them. we don't know if he had them lawfully. but that ar-15, that shotgun, that handgun, all legally obtainable by you, by me. by anyone else in this country. and there is something i think very wrong with that. while i agree with the second amendment to have, you know, an ar-15 which has the ability to snap on a high-capacity magazine and kill so many people at once i think is very, very unfortunate. >> angela, to that point, the

chief medical officer, dr. jan orlowski at washington hospital center, said something evil in our society is at work. we must work to eradicate this. something is wrong here. i would like you to put my trauma center out of business. and yet the reality is, these mass shootings, they're just common currency in this nation, aren't they? >> they continue to happen, martin. we have seen the president react post newtown and right after with executive actions because congress wouldn't move. because there was not a majority in congress that could say not only are background checks important, but we need to figure out ways to really restrict access to guns, to ammunition, and yet again today, here's a problem. this isn't the first occurrence. we saw this with chris dorner, newtown. we almost saw this in atlanta, just a few weeks back. so we absolutely have to figure out something and it is a political and policy solution. there are some options here. but we also have to look at mental health from a policy

perspective, as well. >> angela, we have seen shootings in schools, malls, movie theatres. this is not even the first time it's happened on a military base. of course, major nidal hasan has just been found guilty and sentenced to death. >> that's exactly right, martin. and that's why i'm saying, we can't allow the nra or any other gun lobe, for that matter, to say that my political access, that my ability to sell weapons, is more important and more valuable than a human life. that has to stop. >> angela rai and goldie taylor, thank you both so much for joining on this sad, sad afternoon. thank you. and we'll be right back in a moment. what's important to you? at humana, our medicare agents sit down with you and ask. hanging out with this guy. he's just the love of my life. [ male announcer ] getting to know you is how we help you choose the humana medicare plan that works best for you. mi familia. ♪ [ male announcer ] we want to help you achieve your best health, so you can keep doing the things that are important to you. keeping up with them.

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trade in your old device and trade up to america's most reliable network. i've got the good one! i got verizon! that's powerful. verizon. [ coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. hmm? [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more sinus symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. thanks for the tip. [ male announcer ] no problem. oh...and hair products. aisle 9. [ inhales deeply ] oh, what a relief it is. ♪ this is the first image of aaron alexis. a 34-year-old contractor who is allegedly behind today's deadly mass shooting at the naval yard in the nation's capitol. now the grim familiarity of those questions that always

follow. what was the motive, and how can we prevent an atrocity like this from happening again? that's all for us for now. coming up, "the ed show" with ed schultz. thank you, martin. good evening, friends. we begin tonight with the news that everyone in the country is paying attention to. it all unfolded at 8:20 this morning when a gunman opened fire on people at a washington naval yard. the shooting take place at building 197, home to the naval sea systems command. at the hour, officials say 13 people have been confirmed dead, including the shooter, the gunman has been identified as in 34-year-old aaron alexis of ft. worth, texas. officials say he recently began working as a civilian contractor. alexis gained access to the building using another