Some conspiracists suggest that Alexis was a “targeted individual,” or “TI,” the term-of-art used by anguished people who believe they’re being “gang stalked” by shadowy enemies, often in the government. The elements of Alexis’ police report — covert microwave weapons, conspiracies and sleep disturbances — are common elements in gang stalking accounts. (Of course, they’re also common elements in schizophrenia.) But even believers in those accounts didn’t support Alexis’ violent rampage. “Aaron is a murderer. I do not agree on any level with his actions or guns,” writes one poster to gang stalking forum. “But this story has more evidence than most pointing to the use of microwave weapons, gang-stalking.”

Another writes: “Using Aaron Alexis as an example could look bad, after all he killed 12 people. He had made a choice to keep and use guns. I would hope any real TI would see the danger in keeping a gun. The perps could influence you or even just take over your body, and make you use that gun on someone else, maybe even a loved one.”

The microwave weaponry theory would be just as absurd as some of the other conspiracies if the Pentagon hadn’t been researching the possibility of using similar voice-projection technology in the past as a nonlethal weapon.