Navy Yard shooter’s sister says guilt ‘paralyzing’

By

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 23: U.S. Navy sailers and officers who will receive the Navy and Marine Corps Medal bow their heads in prayer during a ceremony to honor people involved in the Washington Navy Yard shootings at Luetze Park at the military base June 23, 2014 in Washington, DC. The September 16, 2013 shooting ended after the lone gunman, civilian contractor Aaron Alexis, was killed by police but not before he murdered 12 people and injured three others in the mass shooting at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) headquarters at the Navy Yard. It was the second-deadliest mass murder on a U.S. military base, behind only the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The sister of a gunman who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard last year says she hopes the families of her brother’s victims are healing.

The Washington Post reports Naomi Alexis, the sister of former Navy reservist and IT contractor Aaron Alexis, says that the grief she feels for the families’ suffering is “palpable” and that “the guilt, at times, paralyzing.”

The paper says Naomi Alexis initially agreed to an interview, saying she felt it was time to talk about her brother and the mental health issues his killings raised. But the paper says she cancelled the interview and her willingness to answer questions was reduced to a few brief phone calls, e-mails and text messages.

Tuesday is the one-year anniversary of the shooting.