Ala. Man Reports Airport Exchange With Navy Yard Shooter
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An Alabama man said Thursday that his family was confronted by Washington Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis at an airport in southeastern Virginia last month.
Michael Boyd, 52, of Birmingham said in a phone interview Thursday evening that the encounter took place at Norfolk International Airport on Aug. 4.
Boyd said Alexis confronted them from 40 yards away as they waited to board a flight because Alexis thought family members were laughing at him. They explained to him that they weren't.
"He was kind of bold, the way he came up on us," Boyd said.
Boyd said his first instinct was to fight but that he decided instead to call authorities. He said a security guard arrived but didn't really intervene.
Alexis continued to shout obscenities.
"He had the devil on him," Boyd said of Alexis.
Steven Sterling, director of operations at the airport, said that an incident report was filed, but it does not mention Alexis by name. He said there is no video of the confrontation.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
