'Heroic' Female Cop Stopped Fort Hood Shooter

Ivan Lopez was being assessed for PTSD
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 3, 2014 12:56 AM CDT
Updated Apr 3, 2014 7:57 AM CDT
Fort Hood Shooter Was Troubled Iraq Vet
Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, the senior officer on base, speaks with the media outside of an entrance to the Fort Hood military base.   (AP Photo/Tamir Kalifa)

The man who shot three people dead at Fort Hood military base before killing himself has been identified as Army Spec. Ivan Lopez, a military truck driver who was being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder. The Texas base's commander says the 34-year-old, who served in Iraq for four months in 2011, "had behavioral health and mental health issues" and had self-reported a traumatic brain injury after returning from Iraq, the Washington Post reports. Specifically, CNN reports that he suffered from depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric issues. "There is no indication that this incident is related to terrorism, although we are not ruling anything out," the commander says.

  • Authorities say the shooting spree began when Lopez entered a building and began firing a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol that he wasn't authorized to have on base, the AP reports. It was a privately-owned weapon he'd recently bought locally and had not registered at the base.
  • He then drove to another building and opened fire there. After he was confronted in a parking lot by a military policewoman who was about 20 feet away, he put his hands on his head before reaching into his jacket. He shot himself in the head when she drew her weapon, NBC News reports. It was "clearly heroic, what she did at that moment in time," the commander says, adding, "She did exactly what we expect of a United States soldier."
  • Authorities are investigating what sparked the rampage; officials believe it started with an argument in the base's motor pool. "There are initial reports there may have been an argument in one of the unit areas," the commander says.
  • At least 16 people were injured in the rampage, including three who are in critical condition, CNN reports.
  • Lopez is married and has a toddler daughter; a neighbor says Lopez's wife was "hysterical" when TV reports identified her husband as the shooter.
(More Ivan Lopez stories.)

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