Base commander: Sailor killed on Norfolk ship was 'heroic'

[7962]

Source: Stars & Stripes

NORFOLK, Va. — He was a good kid from a humble family who seemed always to want to please his teachers and coaches. He got decent grades and played football and wrestled while in high school in Hagerstown, Md. He wanted to be a cop.

After graduation, Mark Mayo chose his path. He enlisted in the Navy, left home and trained to become a master-at-arms - a military police officer.

Soon he was in Bahrain, then Spain, then Norfolk.

He died here, at age 24, doing a job he loved.


Read more: http://www.stripes.com/news/us/base-commander-sailor-killed-on-norfolk-ship-was-heroic-1.274740#.UzSbba1dU5O

---

Obviously this young man had a bright career ahead of him. No telling how many others may have been killed if not for him.

[radicalliberal]

1. Society is always the worse off when a young man such as Mark Mayo dies before his time. ;(

Condolences to his family and surviving loved ones.

[Half-Century Man]

2. Well Done Shipmate.

[MADem]

3. Kid's a hero. Do we need to issue MAA's ballistic vests as daily wear stateside, now?

This is a CRAZY situation; I am puzzled as hell.

Among other new information, Clark said the assailant - whom officials have identified but not named publicly - should not have been on the base that night. At the gate driving a tractor-trailer cab, he used a valid credential called a TWIC card, issued to transportation and maritime workers. But Mayo's shooter also should have had a legitimate business reason for coming in, and Clark suggested he didn't.

"On this particular evening," Clark said, "he did not have authorization to be on my base."

Clark said the Navy is launching a second investigation - on top of one being conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service - that will examine how the shooter made it through the gate as well as another checkpoint before the pier.

Mario Palomino, NCIS's agent in charge, said investigators haven't determined a motive. They don't think the assailant, who Palomino said did not work for the Defense Department, knew anyone on the Mahan.

????......Just the oddest thing....

[Historic NY]

4. The dead suspect was a convicted felon...

A civilian gunman accused of killing a sailor aboard a destroyer at Naval Station Norfolk had at least two felony convictions, including one for voluntary manslaughter, the Navy said Thursday.

Jeffrey Tyrone Savage, 35, of Portsmouth, Va., had not served in the Navy, and his motivation for storming the USS Mahan's quarterdeck late Monday remains unclear, according to the Navy Criminal Investigation Service.

"The NCIS investigation has confirmed that Savage had no reason or authorization to be on Naval Station Norfolk," an NCIS press release said. "The chain of events that allowed Savage entry to the installation and the ship are under investigation."

Savage, who worked for Majette Trucking of Rich Square, N.C., used his valid Transportation Worker Identification Credential to drive a 2002 Freightliner cab onto the world's largest Navy base at a little after 11 p.m. ET Monday. He parked the truck, walked onto Pier 1 and boarded the USS Mahan.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/27/naval-station-norfolk-shooting/6968603/

[DiverDave]

5. How the hell does a convicted felon

get a twic card.
I have one and the rules, as stated to me, were no felonies.
They take fingerprints to make sure.
I even have a letter stating that I am not a threat to the government.

Something aint right about a valid twic card.