Security check of Navy Yard attacker did not mention 2004 shooting

By David Alexander and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Monday it did not know Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis had once shot out the tires of a car in Seattle before it let him into the service in 2007 and granted him a security clearance, only that he "deflated the tires" on a car. The disclosure raises new questions about screening investigations conducted by the Office of Personnel Management using the company USIS, which carried out the checks on both Alexis and former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is accused of disclosing top secret documents. "The summary of the Seattle incident (provided to the Navy) ... makes no reference to firearms, makes no reference to a gunshot, makes no reference to a blackout, makes no reference to firing into the air," a senior Navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Pentagon reporters. A Seattle police report said Alexis was involved in a dispute in 2004 with a construction worker and shot out the tires on the man's car in an anger-fueled "blackout" triggered by perceived "disrespect." Although he was arrested for malicious mischief in the case, he was never prosecuted and the charge was dropped. Alexis went on a shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard in southeast Washington, D.C., last week, killing 12 people. He had been working at the facility as an information technology subcontractor, using access he gained in part because of his 10-year security clearance issued in 2008. Since the shooting, investigators have been trying to piece together Alexis' past and any missed warning signs of mental health issues. Rhode Island police told the Navy in August that Alexis had reported "hearing voices," and the Department of Veterans Affairs said it treated him for insomnia. The Navy acknowledged on Monday that a commander drafted a letter requesting Alexis' discharge over a series of incidents during his time in the service, including firing a gun in his apartment in Texas. But the commander never sent the letter after police decided not to charge Alexis for shooting the gun. Still, despite past complaints against him like insubordination, disorderly conduct, tardiness and traffic incidents, Alexis' behavior never seemed to signal he was a threat to others or qualify him for a dishonorable discharge, the official said. "Looking individually at the events as we knew them at the time, it's very difficult to see a glaring indicator that there was any kind of potential for the events that took place last week," the official said. HONORABLE DISCHARGE A Navy timeline said he left the service early in 2011, just months after the Texas shooting incident, under a special program saying he wanted to go to college. He received an honorable discharge with a ranking that would have facilitated his later re-enlistment. Still, it was unclear whether Alexis could have been viewed an ineligible to join the Navy after apparently lying on his application form. One of the questions plainly asks whether he had been arrested in the past seven years, to which he answered "no," a Navy spokesman said. The screening investigation by USIS turned up the report of his 2004 arrest in Seattle, triggering an interview with Alexis. It was unclear whether investigators contacted Seattle police. OPM did not immediately comment. A one-page OPM summary of the incident says Alexis was accused of deflating a man's tires in a tit-for-tat parking dispute and makes no mention of the fact that he shot out the man's tires with a firearm, the Navy said, drawing a distinction between the Seattle police report and the OPM report. "I think if you look at those documents side by side, they depict two very different events," said the official. That difference prompted Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to recommend that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ask for relevant police documents to be included in future reports on people being considered for military security clearances. (Reporting by David Alexander and Phil Stewart; Editing by Eric Beech)