Navy Sought Security Upgrades at Site of Mass Shooting

The Navy recently sought security upgrades, including a new “panic alarm” system for Building 197 on the Navy Yard grounds, but canceled those plans in the wake of the Sept. 16 mass shooting. 

News-4 I-Team’s Scott MacFarlane obtained a copy of a Navy contract solicitation, dated September 2013, detailing a series of upgrades the Navy was purchasing for the so-called “NAV-SEA headquarters” on Navy Yard grounds, which was the site of the shooting spree by Aaron Alexis.

Thirteen people, Alexis included, were killed. The contract included requests for panic alarms and a new “electric” lock system. The exact date the request was made is unclear.

MacFarlane has learned the Navy formally canceled the security upgrades Thursday, in light of last week's shooting. Other upgrades are instead being planned, in part because of the military’s newly ordered renovations to Building 197.

A Navy official told the News-4 I-Team the previously-planned security upgrades, including the panic alarms, were “routine” and “periodic” upgrades.

A spokesman said the Navy is “planning to perform an extensive rehabilitation project (in Building 197) once federal law enforcement completes their investigation. It is unknown how long this rehabilitation will take.”

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