Jun 28, 2012

One dead, 2 wounded in Fort Bragg shooting

By Michael Winter, USA TODAY Updated 12m ago

One solider killed another at Fort Bragg and then turned the gun on himself, the Army says. The shooter and a third soldier were wounded.

The Army did not identify the soldiers. NBC News reports that the dead soldier is a battalion commander.

Update at 6:2 1 p.m. ET: A soldier from the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade is dead and two others are wounded, including the shooter, according to a statement from Fort Bragg. Neither the soldiers nor the weapon used were identified.

The statement said the soldier shot the other during a "unit safety brief," then turned his weapon on himself. A third soldier nearby was slightly wounded in the shooting, which happened about 3:30 p.m. ET.

The shooter is in custody. His condition was not revealed.

NBC News, citing a senior defense official, said the dead soldier was a battalion commander.

Here are the Facebook pages for the base and the 525th.

Update at 5:39 p.m. ET: NBC News is reporting that a battalion commander is dead and that at least one person was shot, citing a "senior U.S. defense official."

The officer, who has not been identified, was shot near the 18th Airborne Headquarters in a "distinctly military headquarters area," the official told NBC.

Update at 5:20p.m. ET: Sources tell WTVD that one Army officer was shot during a formation. The officer's condition is not known, and the Army has not yet released any details.

Original post: An unspecified shooting has occurred at Fort Bragg, N.C., and police are responding, according to news reports.

The shooting occurred on base about 3:30 p.m. ET. A news conference is planned for 6 p.m.

WTVD-TV says officials have urged vehicles and pedestrians to avoid the historic district of the post, home to U.S. Army airborne and special forces.

One dead, 2 wounded in Fort Bragg shooting