carved, better this way and my a e.l.f. authorities don t know the significance of either of those indescriptions in the wooden stock of the shotgun used to carry out these crimes. we re hearing from the veterans administration on the record of aaron alexis as he visited emergency rooms in va hospitals. first on august 23rd in providence, rhode island. august 23rd of this year he complained insomnia. he couldn t get to sleep. they prescribe ad small amount of medication. a few days later on august 28th, in washington, d.c. he went to the for a refill of that vision. he said insomnia was due to his work schedule. va put out this statement on both occasions mr. alexis was alert and or river ended and was asked by va doctors if he was struggling with anxiety or depression or had thoughts of about harming himself which he denied. none of the visits related to mental illness per se and he never saw a psychiatrist with the veterans administration, earlier, earlier in august, in rhode island,
announcer: from abc news this is world news now with john muller and diana perez. good thursday morning, everyone. we ve got a couple of interesting shows for you this half hour. we re bringing you more toys from toy insider mom. fun stuff for kids for all angs. it s great. we have a powerball winner. ahhhh. it s not me. i know. unfortunately not. nobody in this vicinity right here. have you checked your ticket yet? i have. i already know what state they won. you re saying it s not new jersey? that s the only hint we re giving. i m saying there isn t a chance. let s move on to news of the day. we begin with the navy launching an intense investigation into how warning signs of aaron alexis were completely missed. we re learning new details about how the former navy reservist carried out these attacks. here s is abc s pierre thomas. this is a remington 870 pump
will be among the mourners on sunday for those who died in the navy yard shooting rampage. this morning we re learning more. kachb travers has more. reporter: the pentagon acknowledged there were red flags about aaron alexis. why they didn t get picked up. reporter: abc news has learned that alexis learned better off this way and my elf weapon on the stock of the shotgun he used in monday s massacre. authorities are trying to determine what those phrases could mean including whether if better off this way meant alexis knew he would not survive his rampage. investigators are also piecing together clues about alexis mental state. one recent incident stands out. on august 7th at 6:00 a.m. alexis called the newport, rhode island, police. he claimed after an incident at an airport it sent three people to follow him and keep him awake by talking to him and sending vibrations through his body through a microwave machine.
and a criminal at the same time. the latest on the mass shooting at the washington navy yard. workers will return to work today just three-days after 12 of their co-workers were killed. new details about the gunman aaron alexis. he had two cryptic messages etched into his shot gun. better off this way and my elf weapon. this as the va says he made several visits to the emergency room seeking treatment for insomnia. he never complained they say about anxiety or depression. his mother speaking out to reporters said this. i don t know why he did what he did and i will never be able to ask him why. aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to any one and for that i am glad.
learning tonight outside the navy yard? reporter: what we learned today when alexis went to the rhode island police with the disturbing delusional story of being followed, controlled with a microwave machine, hearing voices that while as you say the rhode island police reported that to the rhode island naval station that, account went no further than there, did not come to the navy here in washington. still very serious questions as to how this was allowed to happen and at the same time still this overriding question as to why this happened. why did he do this? with aaron alexis s motives still unclear, two mysterious clues. newly discovered etchings carved on the shotgun he used. better off this way and my elf weapon. information investigators are still deciphering. today secretary hagel and chairman of the joint chiefs dempsey detailed the first new measures to prevent a shooting like this from happening again. two department-wide reviews of security at military