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Argument over paperwork sparked Fort Hood
shooting spree, witnesses say
Vi ew Photo Gall ery Portrait of the shooter: Army Spec. Ivan Lopez:A selection of photos from
various sources and the Facebook page of the soldier who killed three and then took his life at Fort
Hood on Wednesday.
By Craig Whitlock and Greg Jaffe, E-mai l the wri ters
A spontaneous argument among soldiers in the same transportation unit at Fort Hood, Tex.,
touched off the mass shooting in which Spec. Ivan A. Lopez killed four people, including
himself, and wounded 16 others, Army officials said Friday.
Witnesses and relatives of the wounded said Lopezs fury was apparently sparked by a
simple dispute over paperwork. They said the 34-year-old military truck driver became
exasperated after he walked into a human-resources office Wednesday afternoon and asked
for a leave-of-absence application, but was told to come back the next day.
Lopez left, but returned moments later with
a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson
semiautomatic pistol and opened fire on
soldiers in his unit, the 49th Transportation
Battalion, killing two of them.
Lopez, a married father of four, then walked
Graphic
Argument over paperwork
sparked Fort Hood shooting
spree, witnesses say
Associated Press
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outside and indiscriminately shot at other
soldiers, Army officials said. He sprayed
bullets over an area the size of two city
blocks, shooting people in two nearby
buildings as well as from his vehicle before
he was confronted by a military police
officer in a parking lot.
The officer fired once at Lopez but missed.
Before she could shoot again, he put his
pistol to his head and squeezed the trigger,
ending the four-minute rampage by taking
his own life.
What was going through Lopezs head
before his outburst remains a mystery.
Investigators said he left no explanation
behind.
We have not established a concrete motive,
but we will do everything in our power to do
so, Christopher P. Grey, a spokesman for
the Army Criminal Investigation Command,
said at a news conference at Fort Hood.
Given that the alleged shooter is deceased,
the possibility does exist that we may never
know exactly why the alleged shooter did
what he did.
Lopezs relatives also said they were baffled.
My son must not have been in his right
mind; he wasnt like that, Ivan Lopez Sr.
said in a statement distributed by the
family. This situation has caused great
pain. I ask for prayers for the affected
families, even more so when there is still an
ongoing investigation.
Lopezs neighbors and family members have
said he was upset by his mothers death in
November and was frustrated that the Army
had given him only a brief leave to return to
Puerto Rico for her funeral. They described
him as otherwise friendly and calm, if
introverted, and dedicated to his family.
At the news conference, Army leaders did
not respond directly to questions about
Lopezs mental health and to what degree it
might have played a role the attack.
On Thursday, Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, the
commanding general at Fort Hood, said the
fundamental, underlying causal factor
behind the shootings was Lopezs unstable psychiatric or psychological condition.
On Friday, however, Milley downplayed Lopezs psychiatric history, saying that his
underlying medical conditions are not a direct precipitating factor.
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Spec. Ivan Lopez opened fire after
failing to obtain an application for a
leave of absence, say witnesses to
Wednesdays deadly shooting at Fort
Hood.
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Instead, he said, the likely spark for the shootings was the argument that Lopez had gotten
into with other soldiers in his unit.
Army officials declined to answer many other questions about how the shootings unfolded
or the nature of the argument, saying that the case remains under investigation.
Others at Fort Hood provided more information. Sgt. Jonathan Westbrook, a soldier in the
gunmans battalion, said Lopez had been in the human-resources department for a meeting
when he snapped.
He didnt like the information that was told to him, so he became irate, Westbrook told
WJTV, a television station in Mississippi, his home state. He then left after the meeting was
over with, and I guess he went to get his weapon, and he came back and fired shots.
Westbrook was shot four times in the chest and arm. He was released from a hospital
Friday.
Two other soldiers assigned to Lopezs battalion who were believed to be in the same
building were killed. The Army identified them Friday as Sgt. 1st Class Daniel M. Ferguson,
39, and Sgt. Timothy W. Owens, 37.
Fergusons fiancee told reporters that he was fatally shot while trying to bar an office door to
keep the gunman out. The fiancee, Kristen Haley, is also a soldier at Fort Hood and was
nearby when the shootings occurred.
He held that door shut because it wouldnt lock, she told Tampa television station WTSP.
If he wasnt the one standing there holding those doors closed, that shooter would have
been able to get through and shoot everyone else.
The Army identified the third person killed in the attacks as Staff Sgt. Carlos Alberto
Lazaney, 38, a member of the 1st Medical Brigade at Fort Hood. Like Lopez, he was a native
of Puerto Rico.
Army investigators said there was no evidence that Lopez had arrived at Fort Hood on
Wednesday with a plan to target anyone.
There was no premeditated targeting of an individual, Milley said. Theres no indication
of that.
Army officials have said Lopez was taking a number of prescribed medications for anxiety,
depression and insomnia, but have identified only one: Ambien, a sleep aid. They said he
received a full psychiatric evaluation last month but was not deemed to be a risk to himself
or others.
A senior military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the pending
investigation, said Lopez had no history of alcohol or drug abuse or violent behavior.
The official said there was no indication that Lopez was suicidal or had threatened to harm
others.
Army officials have said Lopez had no criminal record. He also had a clean record in the
military, with no significant behavior or discipline problems, according to Army Secretary
John McHugh.
Jaffe reported from Fort Hood. Shelby Sementelli in Killeen, Tex., and Mark Berman, Julie
Tate and Adam Goldman in Washington contributed to this report.
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