Fort Lee Active Shooter: Base Gives All Clear After Female Soldier Shoots Herself
An active shooter situation at Fort Lee in Virginia ended Monday after an enraged female soldier shot herself in the head. The soldier, who has not been named, barricaded herself inside a major command’s headquarters and threw objects around the office as law enforcement officials tried to calm her down.
The soldier shot herself in the head and was taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. CBS DC reports that no other injuries were reported in the shooting.
Fort Lee went on lockdown while the active shooter barricaded herself on the third floor of the four-story building that houses the Army’s Combined Arms Support Command. Maj. General Stephen R. Lyons, who took over as commanding general of the support command Friday, stated, “This situation could’ve been worse.”
The soldier who killed herself was a sergeant 1st class who was in the Army for 14 years. Lyons noted that the gun she used was not her service weapon. The army will not release her identity until 24 hours after notifying her next of kin.
Lyons stated, “We are sad for our soldier in arms that she faced those kinds of challenges she had to resort to those kinds of actions.”
MSN News adds that officials aren’t yet sure if the soldier who caused the active shooter situation at Fort Lee was being treated for mental health issues. They also did not speculate on whether drugs or alcohol may have been a factor.
Lyons described the female soldier as upset and enraged during the incident. He didn’t say whether the behavior was consistent with her personality.
Army officials initially labeled the incident as an “active shooter” situation. The Department of Homeland Security uses this designation to describe someone actively trying to kill people with no pattern of choosing victims. However, it turned out to be a self-directed threat.
The shooting is the fourth violent act at a military installation in Virginia in 2014. In March, a civilian truck driver shot and killed a sailor aboard a Navy destroyer in Norfolk. He was shot and killed by Navy security.
In June, a sailor repeatedly stabbed another sailor near Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, and the same installation was placed on lockdown in April when a sailor shot and killed himself inside his barracks.
Monday’s lockdown also happened days after Fort Lee announced a new mass warning and emergency notification system would be activated in the coming weeks. Officials stated that the new system was not in place during Monday’s active shooter incident.
[Image: Statesman Journal]
