I’ve been following the news about the Navy Yard shooting pretty closely.  Like a lot of people, I’ve been horrified by the number of brushes with the law the guy had and no-one did anything, and I’ve been just shaking my head about how the DOD seems to have dropped the ball on giving him access to installations and a security clearance.

But, after I made sure that everyone I know who does work for the Navy in the DC area was OK, my interest has been pretty academic.

That is, until this morning.

Back in August, I did a business trip to Norfolk, Virginia.  I flew in on Friday and out on Sunday.  As I was sitting in the Southwest terminal waiting for my flight home, there was a black guy a couple of seats down from me on the phone.  He was rather loudly and quite profanely talking to someone at his employer. (I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but people on the other side of the terminal were looking over to see why someone was shouting.)  He specifically mentioned having to deal with airport security and the police.  I mentioned it here.

So, this morning, I checked the news and saw this.

According to Rosalind Baugh, Wallis Boyd and Glynda Boyd, the incident began when Baugh laughed at an innocent joke among loved ones and the man they now believe be Aaron Alexis angrily approached the group. Things quickly escalated, with Alexis screaming profanities and motioning at his side as though he were carrying a weapon. Unable to calm the stranger down, family members called security, who spoke with Alexis in front of a terminal of terrified travelers.

That also happened in the Southwest terminal at Norfolk on August 4.  Now, I’m not absolutely sure that the guy in the picture on the news sites is the guy who was throwing a temper tantrum three feet away from me, but what I remember of him roughly fits the description.

Nothing real to add here.  It’s just a weird coincidence.  If it was indeed the same guy, and if that was his everyday behavior, then the fact that the Navy and law enforcement let him slip through so many cracks becomes even more puzzling.