the city's police chief summed it up as, quoting, one of the worst things we have seen in washington, d.c. the shooting happened in building 197. the building is just a couple of

miles from the u.s. capitol. dozens of police surrounded the complex at the time of the shooting. employees were told to stay there only to be escorted out by police a few hours later. >> i was on the phone, and somebody came to my desk, and said somebody has been shot in the building. so we were trying to get people out of the building. and as we were exiting the back door, we saw him, and he aimed his gun at us, and fired two or three shots. >> i was just doing my work about 20 after 8:00, and i heard a woman screaming there is a shooter get out of the building, and almost at the same time i heard multiple gunshots, and once we heard that, we went straight for an office, and then we went by a -- the two -- there was actually two women and

myself, and they went behind the desk, and then we were there for a little bit, and then i didn't hear anything, so i said i'm not staying here, and then i took off and ran across the building, and i heard multiple shots going off, and kept going. >> al jazeera, heidi joe castro is in fort worth, texas where we are learning more about the aledged shooter. what have you learned about aaron alexis, heidi? >> reporter: we know he was closely tied to this restaurant behind me. it's called a happy bowl. it's a thai restaurant. and we are told that aaron lived with the owner for three years. he told us that alexis was his best friend. he said they bet at a buddhist

temple not far from here. and at the time alexis had just been kicked out of his apartment. we also spoke with another friend of aaron alexis who told us he thought alexis was a happy and gentle person, though he thought a 34-year-old man shouldn't be playing violent video games, which he says alexis was a fan of. >> and heidi, just a quick question, i'm wondering if the authorities have been to visit that restaurant owner? >> indeed, tony. in fact four plane clothed investigators are inside the building as we speak. we got confirmation of that from the workers at this restaurant. and they are questioning the

owner who had that very close relationship with alexis. in the interview that he gave us earlier, very revealing details of this man that he says could not have possibly committed this atrocity. but of course more details are being investigated right now. >> and heidi, is there anything more that the, quote, unquote, best friend and restaurant owner who gave him a job, could share with you about his -- his personal life? whether there were children, whether there was a family either in new york or somewhere else? >> well, we know that alexis was born in queens, but the owner here and his friend, told us he never knew or met any of

alexis's family. he did say, though, that alexis was fond of carrying his gun to work, and the owner would often be concerned about that. because alexis was a waiter, and his friend, the owner, would jokingly tell him to get the gun home. and we were also told by his friend that alexis also was fond of guns, and he practiced frequently at gun ranges, tony. >> all right. let's take a look at the pictures that we have as we continue to follow the story from washington, d.c. this is the aledged shooter, now deceased. aaron alexis, 34 years old, as you just heard from heidi joe castro. he was living in the fort worth, texas area, and he lived with the owner of restaurant who has given him a job for a period of

three years beginning in 2013 and lasting until just a couple of months ago, and the reason for that relationship is because aaron alexis had been kicked out of a previous apartment. why? well, there was a neighbor that reported a gunshot in her complex that she claim came from aaron alexis's apartment. there were four investigators who have been in contact with the owner of the restaurant. they are busy right now piecing together the back story on mr. aaron alexis who was killed in building 197 earlier today. so this is a sweep of some of the images we have from the

washington, d.c. area. this is the area earlier today. there is still a considerable area that is still essentially on lockdown. what that means in practical terms is that police and authorities have cordoned off that area, and not allowing traffic in or out of the area right now. we understand there still may be some people inside the washington navy yard who are wrapping up a day's business or who have just been cleared to leave the building, who will be making their way out of the building in short order here. as you can see throughout the course of the day, there was a massive response to that shooting. the reason being so much of the washington, d.c. security apparatus is so very close to the washington navy yard, so when the first calls went out of shots fired there was a massive

response. and this is one of the more curious scenes that we saw throughout the course following this is the scene of civilian workers as you can see here in most cases, hustling out of that building with their hands over their heads. just a number of one of the scenes we watched as the horrendous story unfolded throughout the course of the day, and the man who was there out there for us, our white house correspondent, mike viqueira is on the line for us. mike where do things stand with this investigation? >> tony as far as the information we have got, the last weird we heard was there was still a person of interest, that person at large. we don't know where that person is, but we're 11 hours into this tony. there is still a lockdown or modified lockdown in place around the navy yard here.

the navy has announced that only mission-essential personnel should report to work tomorrow as this investigation continues, and i can tell you that the police activity, along m street has not abaded much at all, in fact we're seeing several large buses going back and forth which has been fairying employees and others. if you were working in building 197 today, tony at about 8:15 this morning, you are likely to hear multiple gunshots, some single, some multiple. you were likely to have been told to shelter in place. people running -- either running out of the building or sheltering where they stood or sat, perhaps getting under their desk. security personnel knocking on

doors, escorting groups of people and individuals into hiding in secret or secure locations within building 197 and elsewhere in the navy yard. everybody reaching out through texts, emails, phone calls telling their loved ones they were already. trying to get information and find out where colleagues were and whether they were safe. law enforcement personnel comes around methodically taking statements. there are 3,000 individuals who work at the navy yard, tony. and we have seen them trickle out and then en masse marching down m street, many of them telling us they were instructed not to talk to the horde of news media that greeted them. so a chaotic day. a lot of confusion. mixeded records. the name of that respect, aaron

alexis, revealed by an fbi agent later in the afternoon. they are looking for help to possibly link this individual with other individuals. only mission essential people at the navy yard tomorrow. the president spoke about this earlier, called the workers there selfless patriots. it is become -- just a horrible routine, tony. >> it is. >> thirteen dead including the shooter at the heart of washington today at a military installation of all places. >> amazing. amazing. mike, thank you. as mike mentioned before, addressing the economy today, president obama spoke about today's shooting, calling the shooter, cowardly. >> we are confronting yet another mass shooting. and today it happened on a

military installation in our nation's capitol. it's a shooting that targeted our military and civilian personnel, and these are men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us. they are patriots, and they know the dangers of serving abroad, but today they faced the unimaginable violence that they wouldn't have expected here at home. >> it was a fast-moving day for authorities, with a lot of conflicting information. jonathan betz is here with us now to walk us through a confusing day of extraordinary events. >> yes. the us in did change hourly, but even after the scene calmed, a lot of the fear had not. >> reporter: monday morning the start of the workweek, when at

8:15 in the morning, reports of a gunman inside of building 197, where 3,000 people work. >> we heard shots and as he came around the corner he aimed his gun at us and fired two or three shots. >> reporter: witnesses reported a man shooting down at people below him. within seven minutes a huge team of law enforcement officers converge on the complex. at 8:45 witnesses report seeing another possible gunman. five minutes later victims started arriving at washington hospitals, some had been shot multiple times. >> all of them are alert and speaking at this time. >> reporter: 9:40 am, planes are grounded at the airport, eight

public schools are put on lockdown. and there are reports that police have cornered a gunman inside of a building, and then reports surfaced indicating the shooter is dead. he is later identified as 34-year-old aaron alexis from texas. but police fear the danger has not yet passed. >> the big concern for us now is that we potentially have two other shooters that we have not located at this point. >> reporter: soon after president obama addresses the tragedy. >> it's a shooting that targeted our military and civilian personnel. these are men and women who were going to work doing their job, protecting all of us. they are patriots, and they know the dangers of serving abroad, but today they faced the unimaginable violence that they wouldn't have expected here at

home. >> hours later the loss becomes clear. more than a dozen people killed, many others wounded. investigators must now focus on why. earlier d.c. police said they were looking for two other people but found one of those men and ruled him out. the second person still has not been ruled out. and it is still unclear whether police are convinced that other people are involved or if this is the act of a loan gunman. >> jim, thank you. joining us from washington is jim arkdus. jim, welcome back. thanks for your time. for a period of time you worked essentially across the street from building 197. what can you tell us about the navy yard in general, and building 197 in particular. >> sure. i worked at the that i have yard

from 2002 to 2011. i worked across the street. the navy yard itself is sort of like a small, to maybe even mid-sized university campus. it's bucholic, they used to produce gun armaments for ships, long guns. i worked in the old naval criminal investigative services building, which is no longer there. they loved the headquarters down to virginia. but there is a nice green space in the middle where they do ceremonies for promotions and retirements. it also abuts -- comes right up to the shoreline of the anacostia river. there are two main rivers in washington, tpotomac and the

anacostia, and it's a very nice view all told. and i would probably say that the square footage or square mileage of the navy yard is six blocks by about eight blocks, and there are two or three main security check points to get in. there are two main pedestrian gates, and then two main vehicular gates. >> take me inside 197. what kind of building and what kind of access to get to it. >> sure. a lot of people have called it the headquarterers for naval systems command, where a lot of procurement for the ships and weapons system occurs. there is a lot of information in there, money spent, that kind of thing. there's a beautiful atrium right

in the middle of the building where apparently the shooter stood on the fourth floor, maybe and looked down into that atrium and shot people from the fourth floor. i used to go into it several times a week. there is a nice cafeteria in there. it doesn't take a whole lot to get into the basic part of that building, 197. there are just basic check points where you swipe your badge and the barrier goes up so you can go in. to get into the more sensitive areas of the building, i believe it's reasonable to assume you need higher and more specific security clearances. >> and there is a museum on the ground? >> yeah, there's the navy and marine corps museum, and the uss berry which is a disship on the

ancostia river. so it's easier to get in to the navy yard if you are just going to have a day with your family at the museum. you can just tell them that's what they are there for, and chances are they will let you in with an escort or something. >> jim thank you for your time. >> sure. so recap now there are still many questions about what happened today, but here is what we know. d.c. police say at least 13 people including the gunmen were killed. several people were hurt, three people, including a police officer were critically wounded. 34-year-old aaron alexis was killed. and investigators are searching for a second possible gunman. and tonight's national's game

was postponed. and the senate was locked down for a sport period of time. coming up next, in colorado the extent of the devastation is becoming clear. and un inspectors say there is clear and convincing evidence syria used chemical weapons. ç]

with us tonight. up next is the golden age of hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the entertainment industry there. next.

♪ thirteen people are dead after a gunman opened fire at a u.s. navy yard in d.c. this morning. the shooter is dead, identified as aaron alexis, we will have more on the story in a couple of minutes, but first let's check some other news. serve people are confirmed dead after the floods that swept

through colorado. more than 600 people have still unaccounted for. as recovery efforts continue the torrential rains and flooding destroyed 19,000 homes across the state. the un released its report on a chemical weapons attack in syria. ban ki-moon today the deadly gas sarin was found in 85% of the victim's bodies, and it is the worst attack to saddam hussein gassed the citizens of iran in 1988. >> the international community has a responsibility to ensure that chemical weapons never reemerge as an instrument of war fair. i also hope an agreement can be

weeked over the weekend to eliminate syria's chemical weapons. and wall street jumping on news former treasury secretary larry summers is out of the race to lead the federal reserve. the dow upnearly 120 points with janet yelen now looking prime to get that job. patricia? >> that's right. president obama says he will still decide this fall who should be the next leader of the federal reserve. what would the fed look like under janet's leadership? >> reporter: she is the tiny one on the right, but she is poised to land the most powerful job of

them all. she built a career spanning both ak demmia, and policy. >> the economy is the strongest it has been in a generation. >> reporter: but perhaps her best qualification is his 36-year history with the federal reserve system, including a term as president of the san francisco current recur bank. along the way she has gained a number of high-profile endorsers including sheila blare. >> i want somebody who main street trusts and respects. >> reporter: for now at least wall streets like her new. when larry summers withdrew his name, they reacted favorably.

some question whether yellen would be as bearing if tested by crisis. >> i think given her background, she would be a lot less bold, but having a more boring fed for a while would be a good thing for our economy and the public. >> reporter: as a long-time fed player, no one doubts her ability to build consensus at this critical juncture in the nation's economy. of course the nomination is not a sure thing there are other strong con tenders including don kohne who served during the height of the financial crisis, and ferguson. if he were to land the job, he would be the first african american to head the federal banks.

>> it sure feels like a sure thing. >> she is definitely the front runner. >> all right. thank you. president obama released a report praising his administration's response to the meltdown and arguing that the economy is improving, and he had some tough words for republicans. >> are some of these folks so beholden to one extreme wing of their party that they are willing to tank the economy because they can't get their way on this issue? are they really willing to hurt people just to score political points? i cannot remember a time when one faction of one party promises economic chaos if it can't get 100% of what it wants. >> and we want to thank you for being with us for our extended coverage of the washington mass shooting. our coverage will continue with john siegenthaler in just a couple of moments. you are watching al jazeera. ♪

millions who need assistance now. we appreciate you spending time with us tonight. up next is the golden age of hollywood going golden but elsewhere. why l.a.'s mayor has declared a state of emergency for the

entertainment industry there. next.

welcome to al jazeera, i'm john siegenthaler. we have special coverage tonight of the shootings at the navy yard in washington, d.c. "stream" will be back tomorrow night. here are the stories. thirteen people are dead after a gunman goes on a rampage. the motive, still a mystery. authorities have id-ed a full-time navy reservist, aaron alexis as the shooter. he is among the 12 people dead. >>