All we know for certain about Monday’s shooting spree at the Washington Navy Yard is a sad fact: It’s the most deadly attack on a military installation on our home soil since the Fort Hood shootings in 2009.
At least 13 are confirmed dead, including 34-year-old gunman Aaron Alexis. An equal number were wounded. The victims include civilians and service members, male and female, and police officers. And it might have been even worse if police hadn’t cornered the gunman and stopped him from murdering more innocents.
Was terrorism involved? Given Fort Hood and other attempted attacks here at home, it is understandable that many Americans fear these killings might have been inspired by jihadist ideology. We expect the authorities to carry the investigation wherever it leads, without either rushing to judgment or shying away from conclusions because of political correctness.
But in an era of instant communications, the hunger for news can unfortunately mean the spread of false information, as we saw when the gunman was originally misidentified. So until we have these basic facts, we decline to speculate.
There will be plenty of time to sort out who did what and why. For now, let us join the rest of America in offering our prayers to the families whose loved ones went to work yesterday and never returned.