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Fort Lee given all-clear after shooting at Virginia army base Fort Lee given all-clear after shooting at Virginia army base
(about 3 hours later)
US army officials said one person was injured a US army base in Fort Lee, Virginia, after reports of an active shooter on base. The Fort Lee army base in Virginia was locked down for about an hour on Monday after an armed female soldier barricaded herself in an office and then shot herself.
“Right now, the information we have is that the person that was injured was the shooter,” said US army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Alayne Conway. “The investigation is ongoing at the scene of the incident.” “During negotiations with the soldier, she chose to turn the weapon on herself,” Army Major General Stephen Lyons said.
The base’s public affairs officials wrote on Facebook that a female soldier with a gun was reported inside Combined Arms Support Command Headquarters building 5020 at approximately 9am Monday morning. “Early reports indicate the soldier turned the weapon on herself and fired one shot, injuring herself. Her condition is not known at this time,” they said. Lyons described the soldier as “enraged” after entering the Combined Arms Support Command Headquarters building 5020, and then barricading herself in an office on the third floor of the four story building. About 1,100 people were in the building at the time of the incident, the Associated Press reported.
She was transported Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. Fort Lee police arrived within about two minutes, followed by the FBI, Lyons said. While in negotiations with law enforcement the woman shot herself. The incident was reported cleared by the base’s Facebook page at 9:50am.
The base announced a lockdown at 9.31am via Twitter. The soldier was brought to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center for treatment, and neither her condition nor her identity were released. She is a sergeant first-class who has been with the army for 14 years and at Fort Lee for three, Lyons said, according to the Associated Press. The soldier did not use her service weapon during the incident.
Active shooter incident reported at CASCOM HQ, Bldg. 5020. All personnel enact active shooter protocols immediately. Post on lockdown. “Soldiers and civilians responded appropriately,” said Lyons. The base followed an “active shooter protocol,” according to media relations personnel. “This situation could have been worse,” he said.
The base’s Facebook page said the the all-clear was issued at 9.50am. The base has a daily population of 34,000 and is the Army’s third-largest training site, according to the base’s website. Fort Lee is about 28 miles south of Richmond, Virginia and 135 miles south of Washington DC.
Conway said the army’s press office in Washington DC does not have information on the alleged shooter’s identity or the weapon used. A press conference was scheduled for later on Monday. “The investigation obviously will continue,” said Lyons. “We are sad for our soldier in arms that she faced those kinds of challenges that she felt she had to resort to those kinds of actions. At the same time, we’re equally grateful, because this situation could have been worse.”
Calls for comment to officials at Fort Lee were not immediately returned.
The base has a population of 34,000 and is the Army’s third-largest training site, according to the Associated Press. The base is about 28 miles south of Richmond, Virginia and 135 miles south of Washington DC.