Army captain shot, wounded on Fort Sam Houston

San Antonio Police Department officers were credited with quick response to a shooting at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. The post was put on lockdown, meaning people had to stay in their buildings. A suspect was arrested within an hour. less San Antonio Police Department officers were credited with quick response to a shooting at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. The post was put on lockdown, meaning people had to stay in their buildings. A ... more Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Army captain shot, wounded on Fort Sam Houston 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A gunman fired up to nine shots wounding a female active-duty captain Monday outside the Army's medical training headquarters on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, home to around 1,200 troops.

Police arrested a retired Army sergeant major within an hour of the shooting and recovered a handgun thought to have been used in the incident, but did not identify him or the victim.

The woman, an officer course instructor at the Army Medical Department Center and School, was in stable condition at the San Antonio Military Medical Center on Fort Sam after suffering multiple gunshot wounds.

It was the post's first shooting in 20 years.

“The last active shooter incident was in 1993,” said Phil Reidinger, a spokesman for the center and school. “An employee held a supervisor hostage, and after many hours of negotiation, the hostage-taker surrendered and the employee was not harmed.”

Army investigators, Air Force Security Forces and San Antonio police swarmed the post area after shots were fired at 2:50 p.m. in a veranda outside the instructor's office at the four-story AMEDD headquarters.

Just what precipitated the incident isn't clear, but San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the suspect and victim were in a relationship.

Col. Randy Anderson, commander of the AMEDD Center and School, said the couple had a conversation in her office. The woman took the gunman to the veranda, Anderson said, but he wouldn't say if they were arguing or if she led him outside to spare others from injury.

“Immediately after the gunshots were heard, people responded,” he said. “Her co-workers are physician assistants and doctors and so they were immediately on the scene as first responders.”

After the shots rang out, the post and its 32,000 military and civilian workers were placed under lockdown, a procedure requiring people to stay in their buildings.

Those following the shelter-in-place command locked themselves in their offices after an alert was issued through public address systems and computer notifications. The lockdown ran nearly one hour before the all-clear sounded. It was the first time the system has been used on the post in a real emergency.

The gunman fled in his car but later abandoned it, said Col. Jim Chevallier, vice commander of the 502nd Air Base Wing. He did not know the number of times the captain was shot.

Her assailant threw away his handgun, but police later recovered it. The suspect was taken into custody after surrendering through his attorney and was in custody late Monday at Fort Sam.

At the Pentagon, a defense official said a .45-caliber weapon was used in the attack.

McManus, the San Antonio police chief, said the woman's injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, and that the man would face federal charges because the shooting occurred on a military installation.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert LaBrutta, commander of the wing that provides security for Fort Sam and two other San Antonio installations, credited a “great relationship” with local police and how they were able to “apprehend and put into custody this suspect.”

Matt Barido, deputy director of Security Forces at Fort Sam, said “immediate assistance, immediate cooperation” with local police made a big difference.

“They brought almost overwhelming resources to bear to assist us in the response to this incident,” he said, but couldn't say how many police arrived. “However, I can tell you that there were a lot.”

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