A bulletproof vest saved the life of a second Metropolitan Police Department officer who was struck by gunfire while responding to last week’s mass shooting at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard.
Chief Cathy Lanier said the officer took two rounds to the chest. Another officer, identified as Scott Williams, was shot in the legs and treated at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
"In terms of the heroism that was displayed by the officers, we now know that not only was one of our officers shot in the building but another one of our officers actually took two rounds to the chest. It was stopped by his vest,'' Lanier said, adding, "We are extremely lucky that we didn't lose a police officer in there as well.''
Lanier said she hopes Williams will be released from the hospital this week.
The chief did not identify the officer who was shot in the chest or reveal whether he sustained any injuries.
The FBI is continuing to investigate why Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist and IT contractor with past mental health problems, gunned down 12 workers inside a building on the sprawling Navy Yard grounds. He used a valid badge to gain access to the property and opened fire with a shotgun before being killed by a police officer during a shootout. No motive has been revealed.
Funerals for four of the victims were being held Tuesday.
Lanier said she was satisfied with the police department's response to the shooting, especially since the building where it took place - the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command and home to about 3,000 employees - presented a logistical nightmare, encompassing nearly one million square feet of office space and thousands of high-wall cubicles.
"It's an absolute worst-case scenario for law enforcement to confront a gunman in that environment,'' she said.
Department of Defense officials have acknowledged that a lot of red flags were missed in Alexis' background, allowing him to maintain a secret-level security clearance and have access to a secure Navy facility despite a string of behavioral problems and brushes with the law.