Military Policeman Killed in Naval Base Shooting

March 26, 2014
Master-at-Arms Mark Mayo was killed while coming to the aid of a sailor struggling with a civilian.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Navy officials are searching for answers about what might have motivated a civilian to approach a docked destroyer, struggle with security personnel, disarm a sailor, then shoot and kill a military policeman coming to help.

The civilian was shot and killed by Navy security forces shortly after the encounter late Monday night aboard the USS Mahan at Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base.

The unidentified civilian was authorized to be on base, but it wasn't immediately clear for what reason or why he would want to approach the guided-missile destroyer, which shares a pier with a hospital ship, the USNS Comfort.

The Navy said the civilian was coming toward the ship's quarterdeck, which is traditionally the ceremonial entry point of a ship, when he got into a struggle with the Petty Officer of the Watch, whom he was able to disarm.

The sailor who was killed was coming to help the petty officer, according to the Navy. The victim was a military policeman from Maryland, the man's father told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Mark Mayo, 24, had been a military policeman since completing special forces training in 2008, and he patrolled the Norfolk base, his mother, Sharon Blair, told The Herald-Mail newspaper, which first reported details about the victim (http://bit.ly/1fhiiSs ). He spent his adolescence in Hagerstown, she said.

Decondi Mayo said Navy representatives told him during a visit Tuesday that his son had been killed.

No other injuries were reported from the encounter.

To get onto the base, civilians must be escorted or have identification that allows them to be there. Authorized civilians include Department of Defense employees, contractors and military family members.

Capt. Robert Clark, Naval Station Norfolk's commanding officer, said Tuesday that identification found with the civilian indicates it is unlikely he was a military dependent authorized to be on base for that reason.

Clark said the civilian was found with a TWIC card, a transportation worker's credential issued by the Transportation Security Administration to personnel such as truck drivers who require unescorted access to secure areas. But he said it was unclear what exactly the civilian's job was or when he worked on the base.

All merchant mariners are required to have a TWIC card, including employees of the Navy's Military Sealift Command, which hires civilians to crew its ships, including the USNS Comfort. The cards are valid for five years, according to the TSA.

Each base entrance is guarded, and motorists present IDs. Inspections are rare, and Clark noted that the civilian did not bring a weapon on base.

Clark said the base would review its security procedures but also said the Navy's response shows that "force protection is working."

All 13 piers have additional security forces that guard access. As part of ongoing security efforts, handheld ID scanners were implemented this year at Navy bases in the region, including the Norfolk station.

The shooting on the Mahan comes about a month after the Navy held anti-terrorism and force protection exercises on bases across the U.S., including an active-shooter drill at Naval Station Norfolk. And it follows a September incident at the Washington Navy Yard, in which a gunman — identified as a contractor and former Navy reservist — killed 12 civilian workers before being shot to death.

The Norfolk base was briefly on lockdown after the Monday night shooting but resumed normal operations aside from the Mahan's pier Tuesday. On social media, many of those who had connections to the ship or sailors aboard it changed their profile pictures to the ship's emblem.

Naval Station Norfolk covers more than 6,000 acres and is the home port for 64 ships, according to information the Navy provided in February. About 46,000 military members and 21,000 civilian government employees and contractors are assigned to the base and its ships, according to the Navy figures.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored Recommendations

Whitepaper: A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

July 28, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge

A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

June 6, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge.

Listen to Real-Time Emergency 911 Calls in the Field

Feb. 8, 2023
Discover advanced technology that allows officers in the field to listen to emergency calls from their vehicles in real time and immediately identify the precise location of the...

2022 Transparency and Trust Report - Public Safety & Community Relationships

Nov. 16, 2022
Veritone releases its 2022 Law Enforcement Transparency and Trust Report delivering Five Key Findings of Community Sentiment on Policing

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Officer, create an account today!