Ivan Lopez, an Iraq War veteran and the lone gunman of the Fort Hood shooting on Wednesday, had mental health issues, according to authorities. This is the second shooting incident on the same military base, following the mass shooting back in November 2009 when 13 people were killed.
Lopez, 34, killed three fellow soldiers with a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun at an Army base in Fort Hood, Texas on Wednesday, which started at around 4 pm. He wounded 16 others before he shot himself on his head and died. He was identified by Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, adding that Lopez served in Iraq for four months in 2011, but was not wounded.
Hours after the incident, Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, head of the Army’s III Corps, said in a press conference that Lopez walked into a building inside the base and started firing his gun. The gunman later rode a vehicle and continued firing shots before he entered another building. But responding authorities confronted him in the parking lot. A female soldier encountered him from about 20 feet away. Lopez pulled out his gun from his jacket and shot himself.
“We do know that this soldier had behavioral health and mental health issues and was being treated for that. The shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At this time there is no indication that this incident is related to terrorism,” Milley added.
Milley said that Lopez was being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The gunman had not yet been diagnosed for the said illness. The troubled soldier arrived at the Fort Hood base along with his wife last February from an unidentified military camp. After returning from Iraq, he reported himself as suffering from a traumatic brain injury but it was not mentioned if he was officially diagnosed.
“We are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. We’re heartbroken that something like this might have happened again,” US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday evening on the latest Fort Hood shooting incident.
Meanwhile, the family of Lopez has been informed about the incident. The wife, who was not identified, is now cooperating with the authorities.
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