About five hours after the first shots were fired in the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters in Navy Yard, Jacqueline Alston says she is still waiting to hear from her husband—-Ernest Johnston, a custodial worker on the fourth floor of the building.

“I’m numb,” she said at around 1:20 p.m. outside of Nationals Park, where she works as an usher.

Officials have set up an area in a parking lot adjacent to the baseball stadium where people can reunite with their family members.

Alston says officials have told her to be patient. According to Alston, her husband is not allowed to have his cell phone with him at work, so he is unable to contact her during the day.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery