Crime & Safety
UPDATED: Washington Navy Yard Shooting Victims Identified
Victims of the Navy Yard shooting from Northern Virginia, and one from D.C.
Gerald Read and his wife Cathy spent many of their days tending to their three labradors, Irish Setter and one cat. The couple, married for 35 years, also started up a small dog walking business — Biscuit Break Pet Service.
"We've always had cats and dogs; we did lab rescue for a long time," Cathy Read said while sitting in her home in a quiet Mount Vernon neighborhood.
"We've always been animal lovers," she said. "As you get older, we were home more."
When Gerald Read wasn't busy at his job as a project manager in information assurance at the Navy Yard, he enjoyed walking the dogs, taking them to the dog park and training some of them in agility. A black lab, Rod, was his favorite.
Born in a small town, Clearfield, Penn., Gerald met his future wife when he was in college and she was in her senior year of high school.
"I always thought he was good looking," Cathy Read recalled.
Gerald Read spent more than 25 years in the military, served in the military police and did a tour in Korea, his wife said. The two had a daughter, and they eventually settled down in Mount Vernon where the couple lived for 18 years. He went on to work at the Navy Yard, and at 58, had no thoughts of retiring yet, Cathy Read said.
"He loved his work," she said.
Cathy Read said she was on "autopilot" while she tries to process the news delivered to her around 9 p.m. Monday. "You just try to put it together," she said.
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UPDATE 2:59 P.M.: An Annandale man is confirmed to be among the victims of Monday's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.
Bodrog was a commander and senior analyst with the U.S. Navy, according to his LinkedIn profile. Bodrog attended Audubon High School in New Jersey where he was a member of the football and wrestling teams and the Honor Society, according to the high school's Flickr account of famous alumni. He graduated from Audubon in 1977 and later attended the U.S. Naval Academy.
He and his wife Melanie moved to Annandale's Oak Hill community in 1999.
Bodrog's family declined to speak with reporters. However, Braddock District Supervisor John Cook's office issued the following statement about Bodrog.
“Yesterday’s violence affected all of us deeply, even before we knew it had hit so terribly close to home. I didn’t know Martin Bodrog personally, but already my office has been contacted with stories about how active and engaged Martin was in his Oak Hill community," said Cook.
"I am terribly saddened that this needless violence has taken Martin from his family. I hope all residents of Fairfax County will pray for his family and the families of all those affected at the Navy Yard yesterday."
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UPDATE 2:14 P.M.: A Reston woman is among the victims of Monday's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard.
Mary Francis Knight, 51, was among the 13 fatalities at a shooting at the Navy Yard on Monday, authorities said.
Knight had a long career in cybersecurity and was an adjunct professor of information technology at Northern Virginia Community College, the school confirmed on Tuesday.
According to Knight's Linkedin profile, she had begun a new position with Naval Sea Systems Command earlier this month. She has worked at Naval Sea Systems Command since 2009.
Knight had a Bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems from Campbell University in North Carolina, as well as a Master's in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webster University in Missouri and CIO and 4011 IA designations from National Defense University, her profile states.
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Among the 12 victims of Monday's shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard are at least two with ties to Northern Virginia, and one from D.C.
Michael Arnold, Lorton
Michael Arnold, a 59-year-old Navy veteran from Lorton, was among the 12 victims of the shooter who went on a rampage Monday at the Washington Navy Yard, according to news reports.
Arnold graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Navy for 29 years before retiring as a captain last year, according to the Navy Supply Corps Newsletter.
According to The Washington Post, Arnold's uncle, Steve Hunter, told The Associated Press that Arnold had been working at the Navy Yard on a team that designed amphibious assault ships.
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Hunter said his nephew was also an avid pilot who was building a light airplane.
“It would have been the first plane he ever owned,” Hunter told the AP from Rochester, MI, Arnold’s hometown. “It’s partially assembled in his basement.”
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Arnold and his wife, Jolanda, had been married for more than 30 years and had two grown sons, Hunter told the AP
“He was a loving son of his mother and his wife, and great father to his kids,” Hunter said. “It’s tragic. How can you get up in the morning and go to work and have that happen? How do bad things like that happen to good people?”
Arthur Daniels, Washington, D.C.
A man who worked for District Furniture Repair in Arlington was one of the victims Monday in the Navy Yard shootings, according to an account in the Washington Post.
Arthur Daniels, 51, relocated and installed furniture in federal buildings. The grandfather of nine was shot in the back after he and a colleague were running away from the gunman and trying to escape on an elevator, according to The Post.
“I don’t know why they shot him,” his wife Priscilla told the newspaper. “He was a good father and hard worker.” She last saw her husband at about 6:30 a.m., about two hours before the reported gunman, Aaron Alexis, opened fire killing 12 people.
Arthur Daniels was the father of five children.
Daniels reportedly worked at the Navy Yard for the past 19 years.
Kathleen Gaarde, Prince William County
Kathleen Gaarde, a financial analyst who lived in the Lake Ridge area of Prince William County, was among the 12 victims of the gunman who went on a shooting rampage Monday at Washington Navy Yard, according to news reports.
Patrick Bolton, a neighbor, told The Washington Post that Kathleen Gaarde was an avid Washington Capitals fan who raised two children and a dog in a modest home.
“She just helped make it a good home for her family and worked hard and provided everything her family could need,” Bolton told the Post. “They’re the kind of people you want to live next door to you.
“The mother was just the kindest lady in the world,” Bolton said. “I’m not even exaggerating. I’ve never seen her do anything but nice things for people.”
In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Gaarde’s husband, Douglass, wrote: “Today my life partner of 42 years (38 of them married) was taken from me, my grown son and daughter, and friends. We were just starting to plan our retirement activities and now none of that matters. It hasn’t fully sunk in yet but I know I already dearly miss her.”
A relative told The Associated Press that Douglass Gaarde worked for the Navy until his retirement last year.
Patch will update this story as more information on victims becomes available.
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