This story has been updated...
In an interview on CNN on Tuesday morning, Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray (D) said that federal budget cuts may have played a role in Monday's shootings at the Navy Yard, which left 13 dead, including Aaron Alexis, the man identified the shooter.
"We're continuing this investigation," Gray told CNN's Chris Cuomo. "But certainly, as I look at, for example, sequestration, which is about saving money in the federal government being spent, that we somehow skimped on what would be available for projects like this, and then we put people at risk. Obviously, 12 people have paid the ultimate price for whatever -- you know, whatever was done to have this man on the base."
Gray -- who said earlier this month that sequestration-related reductions in federal spending have hampered the growth of Washington's economy -- described the Navy Yard as “one of the most secure facilities in the nation."
“How this could happen is beyond belief,” he said, adding that "it really is hard to believe that someone with a record as checkered as this man could conceivably get clearance, could get credentials, to be able to get on the base. I just met with the commandant of the Washington Navy Yard last week. We were talking about the security, and we know this is one of the most secure facilities in the nation."
Cuomo asked Gray if "somebody had been discharged from the city government for a pattern of misconduct that involved some violence, what is the chance they would get near you, in terms of any future jobs?"
"I think it’s absolutely zero. The vetting that would have been done would have been absolutely thorough," Gray said, adding that "he certainly would not have been permitted into sensitive positions."
UPDATED, Sept. 23, 7:16 p.m.: A Navy official who asked to remain anonymous emailed to say that sequestration did not play a role in last week's shootings. Here is the email:
I can tell you that sequestration had absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Alexis' ability to get access to the Navy Yard. He was a credentialed contractor with authorized access.
The DoD IG report that is being cited refers to an access control system that would not and did not apply to Mr. Alexis. And the "cost controls" cited as a deficiency in the report were not alleged to have been sought because of sequestration. The two are absolutely and completely unrelated
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