WASHINGTON — Navy Commander Tim Jirus had just evacuated the fourth floor of building 197 in the Navy Yard, and was talking to a man in the alley about what was going on. He heard two shots fired from inside. Jirus ran. The other man was shot in the head.
“I assume he is one of the casualties of today,” Jirus told a gaggle of reporters, who said he did not know the man, but that he was a civilian worker.
Jirus works in the safety and industrial operations section. He was working on the floor where shots were fired around 8:30 Monday morning. He said he heard four distinct shots, but did not immediately evacuate. He evacuated shortly thereafter when the fire alarm went off. He said the shots sounded like they came from a handgun.
He said since the shooting, workers on the base have been texting and emailing attempting to account for all the employees, sorting out who was in the office, who was teleworking, who might not have evacuated.
As yet, he said, workers on the base had not yet received any kind of communication about what to do — where to go, or whether they should stay.
“I haven’t been given my orders yet so I’m still kind of hanging around,” he said.
“To hear the gunshots and realize you were that close it makes me a little unnerved, it makes me like life a lot today. I’m gonna hug my kids next time I see them,” he said.