Washington Navy Yard shooting news

The Washington Navy Yard, where an armed gunman killed 12 people Monday after reportedly gaining entry with an ID badge, has a history of faulty surveillance. Sources told McClatchy newspapers that Building 197 in particular has poor entrance controls, areas cameras are unable to view, insufficient lighting, a faulty alarm system, and other problems.

James Atkinson, a former military intelligence officer who is now the chief of Granite Island Group, a Massachusetts surveillance firm, said his company found a number of issues during a recent inspection.

Granite Island Group held a “controlled penetration” test that revealed a sensor was not working, in part because screws from a hardware store were in place were more expensive screws were necessary.

“We found not only that people opened it up, but there were traces that somebody had placed a device inside that was recording data, so somebody could hoax the unit and claim to be a person they were not,” Atkinson told McClatchy.