At least two people died in an apparent murder-suicide at Lackland Air Force Base in the San Antonio, Texas, area yesterday morning, officials said.
The gunman forced the base to lock down at about 8.45am Central time while law enforcement swarmed the Medina Annex entrance, according to Bexar County sheriff’s spokesman James Keith, who said his agency was called to respond to an active shooter.
“Bexar County deputies made entry and searched room by room, floor by floor and found two bodies,” Keith told The Times.
Keith said he did not have the identities of the dead and could not confirm that the shooting was a murder suicide.
“It appears to be - it is way too soon to say,” he said.
The Air Force Times reported that one of the dead was the commanding officer of the 331st K-9 Training Squadron at the base, shot by an airman, based on “internal Pentagon communications.” Keith said he could not confirm that, and referred questions to Lackland spokesmen, who did not answer calls early yesterday.
Lackland is best known for its role as the basic training site for the Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard. Its reputation has been tarnished in recent years by a sexual assault scandal in which dozens of recruits said that they were sexually harassed or raped by instructors.
The investigation, which started in 2011, resulted in charges against dozens of instructors, including more than a half dozen in the 331st training squadron, and the ouster of the commander of the squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Paquette, the following year because of the problems in the unit.
The base is part of Joint Base San Antonio, which also includes Randolph Air Force Base and the Army’s Fort Sam Houston.
Several law enforcement agencies, including the sheriff, FBI and Texas Rangers responded to the base, which has a population of about 10,000. Keith said sheriff’s deputies later turned the scene over to federal investigators.
A lockdown on the area imposed after the shooting was lifted at about 10.30am.