D.C. Navy Yard building, site of mass shooting, will be renovated
A remembrance area and a new visitor's entrance will be among the changes when the Navy rebuilds Building 197 of the Washington Navy Yard, where a gunman killed 12 people and then was killed in a shooting spree in September 2013.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus decided against demolishing Building 197, former headquarters of Naval Sea Systems Command, and instead ordered restoration of the building.
The building was badly damaged by the gunfire and has been vacant in the months since. Many of the 3,000 naval employees who worked inside Building 197 have been relocated. Renovation is anticipated to be completed in early 2015.
The building’s cafeteria will also be renovated. A large group of employees were in the cafeteria for breakfast and heard the gunshots when the shootings began.