[9][10] In September 2009, a judge ordered von Brunn to undergo a competency evaluation to determine whether or not he could stand trial.

[20] The Washington Post reported that "if it weren't for the quick response of the private guards on duty, more people could have been killed or wounded."

Mayor Adrian Fenty stated that the officers' efforts "to bring this gunman down so quickly ... saved the lives of countless people...

[25] Police said they found a notebook on von Brunn that contained a list of District locations, including the Washington National Cathedral; they dispatched bomb squads to at least 10 sites.

"[31] On his website, von Brunn stated that his conviction in the 1980s was by "a Negro jury, Jew/Negro attorneys" and that he was "sentenced to prison for eleven years by a Jew judge."

[16] Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns (October 4, 1969 – June 10, 2009), a Temple Hills, Maryland native, was an employee of Wackenhut who was, at the time of the shooting, stationed at the door of the museum when von Brunn entered with a .22 caliber long rifle and shot him.

His funeral was held on June 19, 2009, at Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland, with 2,000 attendees,[32] and he was subsequently interred.

Von Brunn enrolled in Washington University in St. Louis in August 1938, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in journalism in April 1943.

During his time at the university, von Brunn was said to have been president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter, and a varsity football player.

[34] He served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1957, and was the commanding officer of PT boat 159 during the Pacific Theatre of World War II, receiving a commendation and three battle stars.

In the early 1970s, Von Brunn briefly worked for Noontide Press, the publishing arm of the Holocaust-denying Institute for Historical Review.

"[42][41] He reportedly complained of "high interest rates" during the incident and was disarmed without any shots being fired, after threatening a security guard with a .38 caliber pistol.

[48] After he was released he successfully tested for and joined Mensa International; however, he was eventually dropped from membership for failing to pay his annual dues.

[51] In 2004 and 2005 he lived in Hayden Lake, Idaho, the town where Aryan Nations—a neo-Nazi organization led by Richard Butler—was based until 2001.

[36] After the shooting, federal authorities raided his apartment and seized a rifle, ammunition, computers, a handwritten will, and a painting of Jesus Christ standing adjacent to Adolf Hitler.

[58] According to a statement by his attorney, von Brunn had "a long history of poor health," including sepsis and chronic congestive heart failure.

U.S. President Barack Obama said, "This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms.

"[60][61] The Southern Poverty Law Center, Anti-Defamation League, and FBI stated they had been monitoring von Brunn's Internet postings, but were unable to take action because his comments had not crossed the line from free speech into illegal threats or incitement.