This Is What Happened Just Before Fort Hood Rampage

Lopez was enraged by leave argument
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 8, 2014 2:03 AM CDT
Fort Hood Rampage Lasted 8 Minutes
This undated photo provided by Glidden Lopez shows Army Spc. Ivan Lopez.    (AP Photo/Courtesy of Glidden Lopez)

Specialist Ivan Lopez fired at least 35 shots during his 8-minute rampage at Fort Hood military base, killing three of his fellow soldiers and wounding 16, military investigators say in a detailed account of the shooting. The military has also confirmed that the shooting began after Lopez had an argument at his unit's administrative office over a leave request to deal with family matters, the New York Times reports. He returned with a gun minutes later and killed one person in the office and wounded nine others. Investigators believed the soldier killed in the office had been involved in the leave argument.

After the office shooting, Lopez drove to the motor pool building where he worked and opened fire inside, killing one soldier from his unit and wounding two others. He then drove to a medical building, firing as he went, and killed one more soldier inside. "We do not know why he entered that building, and we may never know why," a spokesman for the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command says. The spokesman says retracing the gunman's movements involved interviews with more than 1,000 soldiers, reports the Los Angeles Times. While Lopez's motive is still unclear, "we sincerely hope that our efforts to diligently seek the truth will in some small way provide comfort to the families of the deceased and wounded," he says. (More Fort Hood shooting stories.)

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