john weaver who works in i.t. at the navy yard lived through that blood bath and knows it's sheer luck that he's alive when so many of his friends died. nine men and three women murdered monday morning. john weaver knew six of them personally. he joins me now. john, can you just walk us through what happened? you were at your desk, heard a commotion, a loud noise in the atri atrium. >> they're about 8-feet square cubes and i'm the fourth one back. and the cube behind me is the cube that's next to the atrium, okay. so what happened was somebody was rolling a large cart through the atrium, which normally occurs many times. and i remarked to one of my coworkers that it sounded like somebody was skateboarding on the ceiling. and she made a little chuckle and then a really loud bang occurred. and i thought to myself, they dropped another safe because they'd done that before and it sounded similar to that. but two seconds later, there was another really loud bang. and that's when i realized that somebody was in the buil

john weaver, 13-year veteran of the navy yard could not believe his eyes as he watched alexis methodicallyright their whey worked. >> i heard a really loud bang. two second later i heard a loud bang. i realized somebody is in here and they're shooting people. so i popped my head up. and i saw him pointing his gun at my friend. and -- and he shot her. >> weaver ducked behind his cubicle, pulled the cabinet to block the entrance. while hiding beneath his desk called 911. but the gunfire would not stop. >> a couple more shots went off. a shotgun. using the shotgun. i saw him with the shotgun. i couldn't believe it. he was proceeding to walk through the building and slaught people. i probably heard 30 shots. so then -- the fire alarm went off. that was my signal to get out of there. so i, jumped up. pushed the cabinet away. ran away. went down to the end of my corridor, mary was laying on the ground. >> mary francis knight was john weaver's boss. >> he looked all business, you could see the jaw clenched. when he looked at her, he looked straight at her, clenched that jaw, and just boom. like -

john weaver knew six of them personally. he joins me now. can you walk with us through what happened? you were at your desk. you heard a commotion, a loud noise in the atrium, right? >> i sat in a cube that is five cubes deep and eight square cubes and i'm the fourth one back. the cube behind me is the cube next to the atrium, okay? what happens was this. somebody was rolling a large cart through the atrium which normally occurs many times. i remarked to one of my coworkers that it sounded like somebody was skateboarding on the ceiling. she made a chuckle and a really loud bang occurred. i thought to myself, they dropped another safe, because they had done that before and it sounded similar to that. two seconds later, there was another really loud bang. that's when i realized that somebody was in the building shooting people. >> so you knew after that second shot that that is what it was? saerkt. >> exactly. i knew that there shouldn't be two bangs that loud close together. and the second one was a shot. >> and then what happened? >> i stupi

john weaver knew six of them personally. he joins me now. you were at your desk. you heard a commotion, a loud noise. somebody was rolling a large cart through the ateryium which normally occurs many times. i remarked that it sounded like somebody was skateboarding on the ceiling. she made a chuckle and a really loud bang occurred. i thought to myself, they dropped another safe, because they had done that before and it sounded similar to that. two seconds later, there was another really loud bang. that's when i realized that somebody was in the building shooting people. >> so you knew that's what it was? >> yeah, i knew that there shouldn't be two bangs that loud close together. >> and then what is this. >> i stupidly pop my head up and saw him reach over into my cube row and diagonally shoot across the row to where one of my friends was sitting. i could not see her because it's diagonal to me, caddie corner, and he aimed and shot directly at her. and i popped my head back down and then went under my desk. there's a cabinet with two drawers and i pulled that towar

a survivor of the massacre, john weaver, knows it's simple luck he is alive and they are not. here's what he told me. >> every one of those people who were killed were the nicest people that you could know. they were great co-workers and would never harm a fly. and they were responsible, great people. government workers and contractors. and i just cannot believe that they were subjected to that violent, horrible death that they had. and that's the most devastating part. for me, you know, i got away. that's no problem. i got lucky. it was my birthday, and i consider myself the second luckiest person on that day because my friend was the first luckiest person. but all those other people, they did not deserve that death to die like that. and it was horrible. that's all i have to say about that. >> john weaver also told me he wants know how the navy yard killer got his security clearance to begin with and then held onto it despite repeated run-ins with the police and alarming signs his mind was to say the least extremely troubled. many people wondering the same thing tonight. at t

a survivor of the massacre, john weaver, knows it's simple luck he is alive and they are not. here's what he told me. >> every one of those people who were killed were the nicest people that you could know. they were great co-workers and would never harm a fly. and they were responsible, great people. government workers and contractors. and i just cannot believe that they were subjected to that violent, horrible death that they had. and that's the most devastating part. for me, you know, i got away. that's no problem. i got lucky. it was my birthday, and i consider myself the second luckiest person on that day because my friend was the first luckiest person. but all those other people, they did not deserve that death to die like that. and it was horrible. that's all i have to say about that. >> john weaver also told me he wants know how the navy yard killer got his security clearance to begin with and then held onto it despite repeated run-ins with the police and alarming signs his mind was to say the least extremely troubled. many people wondering the same thing tonight. at t

john weaver has, woulded at the navy yard for 13 years. he was on his desk on the third floor when -- >> i popped my head up and i saw him pointing his gun at my friend. >> he used a cabinet to block the entrance to his [cubical|cubicle] -- cubical and then made the decision to run. the people killed ranged in age from 46 to 73. aaron alexis had run ins with law enforcement in the past, but his friends say they can't believe he is behind this tragedy. karen travers, abc7 news. >> stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage. you can get the latest information on-line at abc7news.com, our site. and we are tweeting the latest developments on abc7 news bay area. >>> breaking news we first brought you, a a child is recovering after being hit in the neck with chards of glass following a shooting in oakland. you can see from sky 7hd officers zeroing in on this car with the back window shot out. a 5-year-old was hit by flying glass and it all resulted from a gunbattle between two shooters in two cars on 27th avenue. no one was hit by the gunfire.

john weaver has, woulded at the navy yard for 13 years.e was on his desk on the third floor when -- >> i popped my head up and i saw him pointing his gun at my friend. >> he used a cabinet to block the entrance to his [cubical|cubicle] -- cubical and then made the decision to run. the people killed ranged in age from 46 to 73. aaron alexis had run ins with law enforcement in the past, but his friends say they can't believe he is behind this tragedy. karen travers, abc7 news. >> stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage. you can get the latest information on-line at abc7news.com, our site. and we are tweeting the latest developments on abc7 news bay area. >>> breaking news we first brought you, a a child is recovering after being hit in the neck with chards of glass following a shooting in oakland. you can see from sky 7hd officers zeroing in on this car with the back window shot out. a 5-year-old was hit by flying glass and it all resulted from a gunbattle between two shooters in two cars on 27th avenue. no one was hit by the gunfire. ne

john weaver watched the suspect methodically murder six of his friends. >> i popped my head up. and i saw him pointing his gun at my friend. and he shot her. ♪ and the home of the brave >> reporter: a day after the shooting, washington paused to remember the 12 people who died. one of those victims, 52-year-old richard michael ridgell, a veteran of the iraq war. >> he loved the ravens. >> he was a good dad. >> reporter: president obama told telemundo that the u.s. is more vulnerable to these types of mass shootings because the country does not have a strong enough background check system on gun purchases. john and diana? >> abc's tahman bradley. thank you. >> as tahman mentioned, one of the victims, mike ridgell, an iraq war victim. we are learning more about the mothers, fathers, co-workers and freinds lost at the navy yard. >> gerald read is another who will never come home to his wife of 35 years. will weir continues our coverage. >> reporter: i'll see you tonight for dinner. those are the last words kathy read shared with her husband, gerald, as he left for work at the washi

john weaver has, woulded at the navy yard for 13 years.loor when -- >> i popped my head up and i saw him pointing his gun at my friend. >> he used a cabinet to block the entrance to his [cubical|cubicle] -- cubical and then made the decision to run. the people killed ranged in age from 46 to 73. aaron alexis had run ins with law enforcement in the past, but his friends say they can't believe he is behind this tragedy. karen travers, abc7 news. >> stay with abc7 news for continuing coverage. you can get the latest information on-line at abc7news.com, our site. and we are tweeting the latest developments on abc7 news bay area. >>> breaking news we first brought you, a a child is recovering after being hit in the neck with chards of glass following a shooting in oakland. you can see from sky 7hd officers zeroing in on this car with the back window shot out. a 5-year-old was hit by flying glass and it all resulted from a gunbattle between two shooters in two cars on 27th avenue. no one was hit by the gunfire. neighbors came out to help the lit

. >> reporter: john weaver, 13 year veteran of the navy yard was at his desk on the fourth floor when he saw all around him die. >> he looked like he was all business except he had his jaw clinched so you can see the ball of his jaw. when he looked at her he looked straight at her, clinched that jaw and just, boom. >> reporter: in all 12 innocents murdered where they worked, none actually in the navy, all now identified as civilians from age 46 to 73, all victims of an evil those who survived cannot forget. jim avila, abc news, washington. >> one more poignant image from today, the baseball stadium a few blocks from the scene of the tragedy, the washington nationals donned navy hats, holding them over their hearts during the national anthem. >>> and now we move on tonight to the extraordinary rescue mission in colorado, families stranded by the floods trying to send their homemade s.o.s. as simple as a white cross on a lawn. here's abc's meteorologist ginger zee. she is there. >> reporter: scanning from the sky for signs of life -- today, soldiers spotted this white cross on the groun

. >> reporter: john weaver saw aaron alexis claim one of his first 12 victims. >> he killed her. she did not deserve to die a horrible death like they did. it was tragic. >> reporter: like weaver many can't forget the unspeakable violence. but families and friends are trying to remember how these 12 people lived, not as they died. >> people will remember dad as the incredible man he was. >> john roger johnson worked at the navy yard but was patriarch of a large family. mary frances knight was also a teacher, passing technology expertise to her students. vishnu pandit was the kind of guy you would like to be your neighbor, always lending a lending hand. >> this is a very difficult thing to process. for myself it will take me nears to come to terms with it. >> a major coffee chain is caught in the middle of the gun control debate. starbucks is now asking customers to leave their guns at home. but the company insists it is not an outryan ban. starbucks deferred to local laws that allow some people to bring weapons into stores. >>> the shooting took place just after a month after the

it was tragic. >> reporter: john weaver was still shaking when i spoke with him.o deep are his wounds. he can only say, he wish he could have done more. robin? >> jim, thank you very much. >>> we're going to turn to sam for the latest on the colorado flood zone right now. you were there earlier this week. and you have some really astonishing pictures. >> we're talking about the second week now. two weeks these people have been living under these conditions. it's not just one area. if you look at where the rockies drop out of the foothills. there's about 200 miles, a stretch of land there. every town in that area has seen flooding, similar if not exactly to this. these pictures are 50 miles north of the boulder area. look at the before pictures. these are google maps. and these are helicopter images of after. we're just showing you some of the -- we've seen roads washed out in the mountains. but roads in the plains. and look at this area, a shot. you can see the roads here. then, look at what you can't see. that's the roads or the ground or anything. and all that w

. >> john weaver saw aaron alexis claim one of his first 12 victims. >> they did not deserve to die a horrible death like they did. it was tragic. >> like weaver, many can't forget the unspeakable violence that unfolded at the navy yard on monday. family and friends are trying to remember how these 12 people lived, and not how they died. >> we remember daddy for the incredible man that he was. >> he worked at the navy yard, but was the patriarch of a large family. four children and ten grandkids. he dedicated his life to service, but taught bible school with his family every sunday. >>> mary knight was also a teacher, passing on her technology expertise to her students. kathleen guardi was said to be an animal lover, working at a sanctuary when she wasn't working at the yard. >> she was very caring and very loyal and very generous to family, dear friends, to animals. because she loved nature, and she volunteered. >> and he was said to be the kind of guy who would like to be your neighbor. always lending a helping hand. >> this is an extremely difficult thing to process. i know for mys

john weaver worked at the navy yard 13 years. him pointing his gun at my friend. >> reporter: he used a cabinet to block the entrance to his cubicle and hide. he later made the decision to run. aaron alexis had run-ins with law enforcement in the past, but his friends say they cannot believe he's behind this tragedy. john and diana? >> all right, karen. thank you. those who died in the shooting were remembered as the washington nationals played the braves. the players held navy caps against their hearts as they marked a moment of silence. the game had been postponed because of the shooting. >>> we are learning more about the 12 people whose lives were tragically cut short at the navy yard. >>> "i will see you tonight for dinner," those were the last words that kathy reed shared with her husband as he left for work at the national navy yard. no one imagined the 35-year marriage would end in a madman's gunfire, so it's impossible for us to imagine what kathy and the other members of a dozen families are dealing with. in what is a g

. >> i talked to john weaver, a man who worked with her the other night and spoke about your sister. he had to say. he truly loved your sister. >> sylvia frasier i worked with everyday. that's the person that i am most -- most sad about. she was the nicest person in the world and i cannot believe that that man killed her. it's just -- that's -- i can't believe that. >> it must give you some solace to know how loved she was and what an impact she made on so many people. >> well, that's true. so much so that the outpouring of love to us, it's amazing, so much so that we have, in preparing for her services we have to move from our own home church because it just cannot accommodate the number of people who are coming out to honor sylvi sylvia. >> bobby, one of your other sisters said something very profound. she has a hole in her heart but to fill that hole, she has to forgive. do you both feel that way? >> most definitely. i think one of the things is that our parents have always taught us to forgive. they always taught us to be truthful no matter if people had difficulty with the truth

at some point, alexis reached the cubicle of a man by the name of john weaver who hid and later heard his coworker get shot. >> the reason that he did not see me was because he was so intent on shooting her. and i spoke with her this morning, and she told me the reason that was was because she was looking him dead in the eye when he shot her. >> so this is a coworker who was released last night and she's doing okay? >> she's doing very well. i mean, we spoke with each other this morning. and i was just -- just so glad that she was alive and that nothing else happened to her, and that she got out. and then when he shot her, she told me that the force of the blast was so strong, it drove her into the ground, and now she has a black eye. and bits of her scalp are scattered all over her cubicle. >> two other survivors hit with gunfire. a civilian and a police officer are still in the hospital, listed in fair condition. investigators think the officer's scott williams, is the one who shot alexis. >> and now to a quote from the pope from pope francis. i am a sinner, he says. this is how the

weaver has an opportunity to lift another layer of darkness. he has an appointment with the administrative segregation review board. to argue his case for returning to johner spent the last year in ad seg after the prison received a tip on another inmate. >> i know i have grown up a bad past. i am an easy target for somebody who wants to manipulate internal affairs for you guys they can use my name. it's look gold. so i have come to terms with that. i am here to tell you guys, i did not do what they're accusing me of doing. i had nothing to do with it. i didn't know about it until the day after it happened. >> we all know. you know. we know the reason why you're basically over there. >> because i am a member of the aryan brotherhood. >> basically the reason, right. right you have been put over there. and you know on a, face it -- for frz. >> not just a member. you are a high ranking member. >> i can't comment on anything lick tha like that. you guys know i know who the rat is. if i was the person that you think i am. do you think he would still be standing here today. standing out in population. no he wouldn't. but he still its. i didn't put a hit out on

john czarrella is out front. >> reporter: jason is charged with second-degree murder because judy weaver just wouldn't let it goonald johnson, died in 2005. witnesses told orange county sheriff's deputies that johnson fell off his bike and hit his head. a tragic know. it was a rainy night and according to witnesses, he tried riding on one wheel and lost his balance. but the story didn't add up for weaver. >> they pretty much brushed it off as, well, it was an accident. everybody said the same thing. that's it. it's done. well, was that the done. >> so she began telling folks in the neighborhood that her son was very much alive and talking, spilling the beans that it was no accident. when in fact he was not talking at all. he was briefly in a coma before passing away nine days later. but weaver's yarn was so convincing, she said within days, a key person came forward. jason gailey. >> he wants to tell me he accidentally hit ronny with his fist. >> she takes information to the sheriff's office. the sheriff's department said a sheriff was assigned to the case but could not get witnesses to tell the truth. gailey i

john zarrella has the story. >> reporter: jason brian gaily is charged with second-degree murder, because judy weaver just wouldn't his bike, hit his head, a tragic accident. it was a rainy night. according to witnesses, he tried riding on one wheel and lost his balance, but the story didn't add up for weaver. >> they pretty much kind of brushed it off as well, it was an accident, everybody said the same thing s. that's it, it's done. well, it wasn't done. >> judy weaver began telling folks in the neighborhood that her son was very much alive and talking, spilling the beans that it was no accident, when in fact he was not talking at all. he was briefly in a coma before passing away nine days later. but weavers's yarn was so convincing, she says, within days a key person came forward, jason galley. >> he wants to tell me he accidentally hit ronny with his fist. >> reporter: she takes the information to the sheriff's office. the sheriff's department says that a detective was then assigned to the case, but couldn't get the witnesses to tell the truth. gaily is not picked up. for seven years it remains a cold case. th