Thursday, April 03, 2014

More Workplace Violence at Fort Hood? – At Least 15 Soldiers Shot - 21 Ambulances on Scene – TWO SHOOTERS?

Shooter Named As Soldier, Ivan Lopez, As Many As 4 Dead Including Lopez Reported, 14 Injured



I posted a photo of Spc. Ivan Lopez, who was stationed at Ft. Hood and attached to the 1st Battalion, Warrior Transition Brigade from this link.
So, does that mean he helped those having a hard time transitioning from a combat zone? Or does it mean that he was being treated because he was having a hard time transitioning?
Thanks to Tom Elia for that link.
We're also now hear that at least four are dead. Not sure if that's four victims + 1 shooter. --->Apparently that was four dead, including the perp. So, our prayers go out for the families of three of them.
UPDATE: I think Iowahawk nailed it:
Whatever the story here, the idea that the US Army has to call 911 when their bases are attacked is flat-out insane. 


  

THIS POST WILL BE CONTINUALLY UPDATED AND BUMPED FOR NOW

kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen
KCEN TV reported:
We have reports of an active shooter on Fort Hood.
We have reports that there are several injuries from this shooting. There is at least one patient being transported to the hospital.
We are also getting reports of victims in the Battle Simulation Center on 65th and Warehouse.
The suspect is still at large. The shooter was said to be in building 33026 which is the Medical Brigade Building.
THE OTHER DAY, IT WAS REPORTED THE FBI WAS ON A NATIONWIDE MANHUNT FOR THIS LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT:


FROM JAWA:


Critical above the fold update: The reason he's not a threat? He's been put into a mental institution! So, this kind of explains why the Feds didn't release his name. But then why the security alert on military bases if the guy making the threats was already at a funny farm? Collaborators maybe?
UPDATE: I've ID'd the suspect as John Thomas Booker, Jr. Scroll down to see how I found him.
-----------
The good news here is that the man, known only as "Booker", never showed up for basic training. So, this isn't an "imminent" attack of any sort. The news so far suggests that he planned to join the military, infiltrate the ranks, and only then follow in the footsteps of Nidal Hasan in committing mass murder against his fellow soldiers.
The bad news? Apparently, "Booker" is on the run:
On 20 March 2014, the Kansas City Division FBI became aware of an individual named BOOKER aka Muhammad Abdullah Hassan who had publicly stated his intention to commit jihad, bidding farewell to his friends and making comments indicating his jihad was imminent. BOOKER had been recruited by the US Army in Kansas City, Mo., in February 2014 and was scheduled to report for Basic Training on 7 April 2014. Kansas City Division Agents interviewed BOOKER on 20 March 2014.
There's a BOLO out on "Booker", but it's not clear to me if the FBI and military want to catch this guy why they don't publicly release his real name along with a picture? If he decided not to show up for basic training, then here are the reasons as I see them: a) he suspected that his plot had been detected so he ran (Update: I don't know how I overlooked this, but the FBI interviewed him in March so of course he realized they were on to him); b) he got cold feet, in which case was there really any crime committed since he may have decided not to carry out the original plot; c) he decided to commit some other act of terror.
One last thing that may be cause for worry:
Law enforcement sources familiar with the alert said it appeared to suggest that there may be others in addition to Booker who also might have expressed similar intentions to commit jihad against U.S. military installations. [emphasis mine]
A bigger plot with multiple suspects on the loose?
So, it sounds like the military is treating this as a potential threat against bases within the US ... so we go with option "C", even if it is only a precautionary alert as to what "Booker" might do.
I'm a little late to this party, so has anyone heard anything else about this guy?
UPDATE: Apparently this guy's Facebook page was a treasure trove of information, but it's down now. The Heavy grabbed some photos before FB suspended his account. I've posted one of those pics at the top. This one is from his Linkedin account.


UPDATE I ---



UPDATE II


The suspect is still at large. The shooter was said to be in building 33026 which is the Medical Brigade Building.




AOW here:


Local Dallas news has named the shooter as Ivan Lopez.


AOW here: 

Please see this post -- one post down here at IBA.

29 comments:

Always On Watch said...

Let us remember that this is second attack on a military facility here in the United States in less than 10 days. On Monday, March 26, there was a killing on the Norfolk Naval Base.

Pastorius said...

Yes, that's important to remember. Thanks.

Always On Watch said...

Is Booker in a mental hospital or still on the loose? I've heard/read conflicting reports.

Anonymous said...

Are you positive that the picture you posted is the correct Lopez? If you google images the name it will show you a high school picture of another soldier named Ivan Lopez who hanged himself after returning from Afghanistan in 2011. Just wouldn't want that man's picture all over the internet for his children to see as the shooter.

Always On Watch said...

Anonymous,
From all that I can discern, the photo at the top of the blog post is today's Fort Hood shooter Ivan Lopez -- and not the earlier Lopez, who was in his mid- to early 20s when he committed suicide.

Pastorius said...

We're only going by the other news sources.

You are correct, however, that there was another soldier named Ivan Lopez who hanged himself several years back and, if I am not mistaken, he lived in the same area of the country.

Pastorius said...

We're only going by the other news sources.

You are correct, however, that there was another soldier named Ivan Lopez who hanged himself several years back and, if I am not mistaken, he lived in the same area of the country.

Anonymous said...

Via MyPetJawa:
Update: Mediate has this:

According to KWTX-TV, Lopez was an active-duty soldier, who worked as a truck driver for the U.S. Army.

Anonymous said...

FWIW . . .converting today's calendar date to the equivalent on the Islamic calendar reveals today was 2 Jumada Al-Thani.

Here is a link to a calendar with an interesting legend. Today is listed as "VERY GOOD: Blessed, highly favorable".

Pastorius said...

Aries, with Jihad rising.

Anonymous said...

Look at Ivan's photo tying a fly for fishing. There is a faint shadow in the upper center of his forehead, ending at his widows peak 5 o'clock scalp shadow. Zebiba?

Anonymous said...

Exactly ten years ago . . .2004-04-02 - Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack was thwarted.

Is there some significance to this date for Islam?

Anonymous said...

Milley said the shooter, identified earlier as 34-year-old Ivan Lopez, entered one building and fired shots at individuals then returned to a vehicle before entering a second building to fire more shots.
He finally turned his weapon, a .45 caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol, on himself after a heroic female military police officer approached and engaged him, Milley said.
'It was clearly heroic what she did. She did her job and she did exactly what we would expect from a US military police,' he said, though didn't identify her.
Milley confirmed the married shooter had served in Iraq for four months in 2011, and was being treated for depression and anxiety. He was also in the process of being assessed for post traumatic stress disorder, though Milley insisted he had not yet been officially diagnosed.
The gunman was assigned to the 13th Sustainment Command expeditionary unit

According to NBC's Brian Williams, the shooting started after an argument between two soldiers. This has not been confirmed. Milley did not know whether the shooter knew his victims or whether the attack was premeditated.
The shooter entered building 33026, which is the Medical Brigade Building and shot at soldiers within the building before returning to a vehicle, a grey Toyota Camry.
He targeted more military personnel in another building before again returning to the vehicle, where he was engaged by the female cop.
Milley told reporters, 'He was approaching (the military police officer) at 20 feet, put his hands up and reached under his jacket, pulled out the .45 caliber, she engaged and he put the gun to his head.'
His body was found in the parking lot where he was engaged by the officer.
Milley said the shooter, who he didn't identify because his family were yet to be notified, had reported a traumatic brain injury when he returned from duty in Iraq in 2011.
However, the commanding general confirmed that the gunman was not wounded in action and did not earn a purple heart.
Milley explained that base protocol required all weapons to be registered on base.
'This weapon was not registered on base,' he said, adding that concealed weapons were not, and should not, be allowed.


Read more:UKDailyMail

Charles Martel said...

Is it too much speculation trying to link this shooting, precisely in Fort Hood, the place that inspired Booker to plan his own Jihad?455 3

Always On Watch said...

Let's consider for a minute the following:

1. The Navy Yard shooting -- September 16, 2013. Shooter was a civilian.

2. The shooting aboard the naval vessel in Norfolk, Virginia -- March 26, 2014. Shooter was a civilian.

3. Fort Hood shooting -- April 2, 2014. Shooter was an active member of the U.S. military.

I don't recall such events ever happening that frequently here in the United States at military installations.

Anonymous said...

Interesting consideration from Vinnie at MyPetJawa:

" As for the picture above, I am not the source of it. This is. It may not be the shooter and some have suggested that since the shooter was only recently transferred to Ft. Hood, it couldn't be him.

Possibly. Except that nothing about this guy adds up. A bunch of MSM sources report that he was 34 and still an Spc. (example here). He also was deployed to Iraq for 4 months and saw combat. So that was years and years ago now. The fact that he's been in the military for some time now and was still an Spc. says something about this guy.

Moreover, given his length of service and Iraq deployment he could have been stationed at Hood a few years ago and then just recently came back.

Just a theory, and I'm not that invested in it. But saying that since the above photo is 4 years old, this can't be the shooter just misses some basic things."

Always On Watch said...

Also from that link at My Pet Jawa;

So, we've come full circle. Nidal Hasan was at Ft. Hood to treat returning soldiers with PTSD, this guy was at Ft. Hood being treated for PTSD.

Pastorius said...

Yeah, supposedly.

Anonymous said...

Rep. mike McCaul, R - TX on Fox &Friends now just suggested the shooter's potential links to terrorism continue to be investigated as his vehicle was documented crossing into Mexico on multiple occasions, with the most recent late March.
No link yet.

Anonymous said...

-- USA Today says "Lopez arrived at the installation in February from another Army post and had not been assigned to one of the Army Wounded Transition Units, military units that are set up to care for wounded, injured or ill soldiers. Those assigned to these units have case managers who help them track appointments and manage their medical treatments."

Anonymous said...

Still waiting for the definitive Islam link that seems fairly probable. Some interesting things I've come up with so far though - I used google maps to work out that Lopez lived exactly 3.8 miles - 8 minutes drive from the only mosque in Killeen Tx. Yes the mosque Nidal Hassan visited...
Also rediscovered the 2011 news about the foiled plot to blow up the restaurant near Fort Hood frequented by soldiers from the base. Thought I'd mention this because many who are reporting this shooting keep referencing the Nidal Hassan shooting as though that were the only past incident regarding Fort Hood that's worth mentioning.

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/24/muslim-life-in-kileen-texas-one-year-after-fort-hood-shooting/

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2381070/posts?page=56

-aldo

Anonymous said...

Sources confirm yesterday's Fort Hood shooter is 34 year old Ivan Lopez. Military officials will not confirm that name. -- @annawerner
7:07am - 3 Apr 14
. Via CBS Twitter

Anonymous said...

Link got above CBS Twitter feed. https://mobile.twitter.com/CBSNews

I'm posting the link to this twitter feed because it is supposedly reported that Lopez's wife is cooperating with the investigation, and the time stamp on the tweet indicates the military has yet to confirm shooters identity. What reason would the military have in holding back now?

Anonymous said...

https://mobile.twitter.com/NBCNews

No record shooter saw any combat while deployed in Iraq, - Jim Mikeliszewsi

Anonymous said...

Fort Hood Gunman Did Not See Combat in Iraq Tour, Officials Say

Anonymous said...

Although the shooter did not see combat, he was exposed to the threat of attack, possibly witnessed attacks, risked IED's while transporting as a truck driver while deployed in Iraq....all stresses which leave indelible impressions on the human mind and soul.

George Carlin discusses 'shell shock'

Epaminondas said...

Frankly the only issue which engages me on this, is this: We train these people to be professional. ARM THEM AS THEY ARE TRAINED. They should all be carrying sidearms, and some should be carrying ALL arms.

Anonymous said...

'We do not know a motive. We know he had behavioural health and mental health issues and was being treated for that,' he said, adding that the shooter had only been at Fort Hood since February this year, when he transferred from another installation in Texas.
He was not in the process of being transitioned out of the military due to his mental health issues, Milley said.
'Obviously we are digging deep into his background, criminal history...' Milley said.
He said that while investigators wouldn't rule anything out, there was 'no indication this is related to terrorism.'
The gunman was a lorry driver assigned to the 13th Sustainment Command expeditionary unit.
Lopez was from the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and joined the island's National Guard in 1999.
He went on a peace and security mission to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in the mid-2000s and left the National Guard in 2010 to join the U.S. Army, said Lt Col Ruth Diaz, spokeswoman for the Puerto Rico National Guard.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2595587/BREAKING-NEWS-Active-shooter-confirmed-Ford-Hood-military-base.html#ixzz2xpmKLmgt

Anonymous said...

Check out the FB page of "Ivan Lopez Malave".

I don't know if this is the shooter (maybe its why they are not releasing the actual name) but there are some info to consider on this person's page.
1. The guy was US Army,, possibly a truck driver judging by a photo. With a comment in Spanish that google translates to "Inspecting well. not as enB35th".
2. There is a photo of a university in Puerto Rico, a link to the Puerto rican national guard.
3. the guy showed his residence as in the Kansas city area of Missouri & an amateur "fan" photo of George Brett of the Kansas City Royals (a further link) the the KCMO area, the area which "Booker" aka Muhammad Abdullah Hussan that swore Jihad using Ft. Hood-inspired tactics.