Frightening new video images show Washington Navy Yard killer Aaron Alexis in the midst of his massacre, stealthily hunting his prey as he moves through the complex with his sawed-off Remington 870 drawn.
Office workers can be seen streaming through a door at one end of a corridor as the shooter takes cover at the other end.
Alexis then raises his gun and strides purposefully in their direction.
The 30-second video clip, culled from more than 100 hours of surveillance from multiple security cameras during the horrific Sept. 16 rampage, was released Wednesday by the FBI.
The footage begins with the 34-year-old Alexis — wearing a blue polo shirt, black pants and an ID card — arriving at the complex in his rented blue Prius.
It also shows him walking through the entrance of Building 197 with a backpack, bolting down stairs between floors, crouching and pressing himself against walls and checking the safety on his shotgun.
At times he carries the gun low, raising it when he passes what appear to be office doorways.
Alexis is not firing in any of the released images.
In a span of about an hour, the Brooklyn-bred former Navy reservist-turned-civilian contractor murdered 12 people before he was killed in a shootout with authorities.
He never intended to make it out of the building alive.
“There are indicators that Alexis was prepared to die during the attack and that he accepted death as the inevitable consequence of his actions,” the FBI noted in a report of the investigation released with the video.
Surviving shooting victims and family members of the 12 people Alexis killed were alerted before the footage was released.
Despite the disturbing content, the FBI and Navy officials believe the release of the video was warranted.
“We understand the sensitivities,” FBI spokeswoman Lindsay Godwin told The Post. “But we felt it was valuable information.
“Our intent was to clarify the timeline, to show that there was a single shooter, to show that he acted deliberately. It provides a look into his insight and his motivation — he wasn’t lost when he went into that building.”
Tracey Ridgell, whose slain husband Mike, 52, was a front- gate guard at the Navy Yard building, said it was wrenching to watch the video with her two teen daughters on TV in their Westminster, Md., home.
But, she said, “I’d rather know [what happened] than not know.”
“That was hard to watch. That was hard to see, especially the part where he’s going through the entrance,” the widow said.
While Mike Ridgell isn’t seen in the video, he surely said hello as his killer entered the building just before Mike was slain, Tracey said.
“He said hello to everyone,” she said of her husband, a retired Maryland State Police officer whose funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
Ridgell said she wanted her daughters, Megan, 19, and Maddi, 17, to watch the video at her side.
“They’re going to see it anyway, online, and I’d rather they see it with me,” she said. “They both saw it. We talked about it and it makes it easier.”
In addition to the video, investigators released other details about the day of the shooting and Alexis, who had a documented history of mental problems.
The FBI revealed that Alexis left behind “several relevant communications” that indicated he thought he was being tormented by magnetic-wave forces.
In one note, Alexis wrote: “Ultra low frequency attack is what I’ve been subject to for the last 3 months, and to be perfectly honest that is what has driven me to this.”
There was no indication Alexis was targeting specific workers, investigators said.
He also etched messages on his Remington shotgun, which he bought at a Virginia gun store Sept. 14, the FBI said. He bought a hacksaw the same day.
At some point, Alexis sawed off the barrel and stock of the gun and covered the end of the stock with purple duct tape, investigators said.
A roll of purple tape can be seen in a side pocket of the backpack Alexis left hanging on the back of a men’s-room door before his spree.
He had been assigned to an information-technology job that started on Sept. 9 at the Navy Yard, and had been staying at a Residence Inn in DC, the FBI said.
According to the official timeline, he pulled into a Navy Yard garage in a rented blue Prius at around 7:53 a.m. the morning of the shootings.
He used his ID to get into Building 197, then boarded an elevator and got out on the fourth floor before heading to the men’s room, carrying the backpack and a clipboard, investigators said.
At 8:16 a.m., he came out of the men’s room without the backpack and carrying the shotgun.
A minute later, he shot his first victim.
About an hour later, he was shot down by cops.
In addition to the shotgun and backpack, the FBI also recovered a Beretta handgun that Alexis picked up during his rampage.
Timeline of the attack:
- 7:53 a.m. – Alexis’ rental car, a blue Toyota Prius with New York plates, entered Parking Garage #28 at the Washington Navy Yard, located directly across from Building #197.
- 8:08 a.m. – Alexis exited Parking Garage #28 on foot carrying a backpack. Alexis entered Building #197 and proceeded to the elevator.
- 8:09 a.m. – Alexis exited the elevator on the fourth floor and entered the men’s bathroom carrying a backpack and a clipboard.
- 8:15 a.m. – Alexis crossed the hallway into the 4 West area of Building #197 with shotgun, but without the backpack or a clipboard.
- 8:16 a.m. – Alexis shot the first victim in the 4 West area of Building #197.
- 8:17 a.m. – First 911 call is received from the fourth floor of Building #197.
- 8:20 a.m. – Alexis left the fourth floor using the stairs and entered the third floor.
- 8:28 a.m. – Alexis appeared on the first floor.
- 8:57 a.m. – Alexis returned to the third floor.
- 9:25 a.m. – Law enforcement shoot and kill Alexis on the third floor.