First-Responding Police Officers Found Navy Yard Gates Locked

Navy Yard police radios didn’t work during active shooter response

A group of people who work on the fourth floor of the Navy Yard’s Building 197 remembered their fallen coworkers at a Nats tailgate as sources reveal new details about possible hurdles in Monday’s emergency response. News4’s Pat Collins reports.

During an active shooter crisis, every second counts, and when Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived at the Washington, D.C., Navy Yard Monday morning, the gates were locked, causing delays.

The union for Navy Yard police said they were undermanned and they had to close gates so officers could go to the shooting scene.

Navy Yard police radios didn’t work in Building 197, where Aaron Alexis fatally shot 12 civilian employees and wounded eight others, so officers communicated with their cell phones, according to the union.

Navy Yard reopened Thursday, but FBI evidence collection continues at Building 197.

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