Aaron Alexis. Photo provided by FBI.

Aaron Alexis. Photo provided by FBI.

The mother of Aaron Alexis, the 34-year-old man who authorities say killed 12 people at the Navy Yard this week, said in a statement released this morning she is “so, so very sorry this has happened.”

“Our son, Aaron Alexis, has murdered 12 people and wounded several others,” Cathleen Alexis said this morning from New York City. “His actions have had a profound and everlasting effect on the families of the victims. I don’t know why he did what he did. And I’ll never be able to ask him why. Aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone. And for that I am glad. To the families of the victims, I’m so, so very sorry this has happened. My heart is broken.”

At the moment, there is no known motive for the shooting attack that left 12 people dead and eight injured. The FBI says Alexis arrived in D.C. in late August and had been staying in local hotels. He legally purchased the shotgun used at the Navy Yard in Virginia, and had “legitimate access … as a result of his work as a contractor” to enter the building in Southeast D.C. Monday.

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