2 killed in apparent murder-suicide at Air Force base in Texas, authorities say

April 8, 2016 5:44 PM PT

reporting from houston — Texas military facilities have been the scene of shootings in recent years and on Friday gunfire erupted again, this time at Lackland Air Force Base in an apparent murder-suicide.

At least two airmen died in the incident, which prompted a lockdown at the base outside San Antonio, with law enforcement swarming the Medina Annex entrance, according to James Keith, a spokesman for Bexar County sheriff’s office.

“Bexar County deputies made entry and searched room by room, floor by floor and found two bodies,” Keith said. 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.

Lackland officials released a statement late Friday calling the shooting “workplace violence” and noting that two handguns were found at the scene.

Officials declined to identify those killed, as their next of kin were still being notified.

Brig. Gen. Bob Labrutta, Joint Base San Antonio commander, would not say what the relationship was between the two people or to which squadron they belonged.

“What we know is we have two victims now, and we’re going through our processes and procedures, and once we make a determination, we will let you know,” Labrutta said.

Labrutta said he did not know how many shots were fired or whether the guns used were military-issue or personal weapons.

“Individuals don’t get to carry weapons unless they’re part of this team,” Labrutta said, pointing to military police standing beside him. “They’re the only ones authorized to have weapons.”

Texas military bases have been the scene of other high-profile shootings, including two about 160 miles north at Fort Hood: the 2014 attack by disgruntled Army Spc. Ivan Lopez that claimed four lives, including his, and the 2009 shooting by Taliban-sympathizer Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who killed 14 people and injured more than 30. Hasan later was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

Both previous shooters used personal guns they had bought at nearby gun stores and brought to the military installations, as did Aaron Alexis, the civilian contractor who fatally shot a dozen people with a sawed-off shotgun at the Washington Navy Yard before he was killed by police in 2013.

Those entering Joint Base San Antonio are screened at security gates, and sometimes their vehicles are checked too, Labrutta said Friday, adding, “We’ve got good procedures in place.”

“We are safe and secure. These unfortunate events happen. We have 82,000 people who come to work at [the base] every day,” he said, and just like other workplaces, “we have some one-offs. And that is what I would consider this: a one-off.”

Lackland is best known 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 they were harassed or raped by instructors.

Air Force officials said harassment was not suspected to have played a role in Friday’s shooting.

Twitter: @mollyhf

Times staff writer W.J. Hennigan contributed to this report from Washington.

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