Sniper kills 1, wounds 20 at military base

October 27, 1995

Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EDT

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (CNN) -- One soldier was killed and 20 others were hurt Friday when a sniper opened fire on an athletic field at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The sniper allegedly fired on his unit as they prepared to start a morning run, a Fort Bragg spokesman said.

Moments after the soldier opened fire from a wooded area, a group of unarmed Special Forces soldiers wrestled him to the ground. "We came under fire and we moved into the tree line because we realized we were the only ones who could do anything about it," said Staff Sgt. Anthony Minor.

Minor said that the gunman, who was firing at them, turned away. And as he did, he and Sgt. Edward Mongold tackled the man. "It was a fight for his life," Minor said. "It was a fight for our lives."

Minor, Mongold and several other soldiers disarmed the shooter and held him for the military police.

Army officials have identified the shooting suspect as 26- year-old Sgt. William J. Kreutzer, an infantry squad leader in the Second Brigade. Kreutzer's hometown is listed as Washington, D.C.

The dead soldier has been identified as 38-year-old Major Stephen Mark Badger, the intelligence officer for the Second Brigade. His hometown was not available, but his place of birth was Salt Lake City, Utah.

Maj. Rivers Johnson said about 1,300 troops from the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 82nd Airborne were gathered at Towle Stadium at 6:30 a.m. EDT, preparing to start a 4-mile run, when shots rang out from the woods nearby.

Authorities from the Army's Criminal Investigation Division said three weapons were found when the suspect was apprehended. They included a 9mm pistol, a .22-caliber rifle, and a AR-15 rifle, the civilian equivalent of the M-16 assault rifle. Johnson said soldiers at the fort do not ordinarily carry Army-issued weapons.

Johnson would not speculate on a motive for the shooting.

A soldier who was running nearby at the time of the incident said that he heard shots and that it appeared they were being fired at the staff of the 2nd Infantry Brigade.

A videotape shot by a soldier as the sniping incident began showed the troops scrambling for cover, many of them attempting to help the wounded reach safety.

Maj. Victor Modestor, chief of surgery at Womack Army Hospital at the fort, said four of the soldiers were taken into surgery. Two were in critical condition and the two others were stable.

A soldier who suffered paralysis when he was shot in the neck was transported to Duke Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition. Another soldier suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was in stable condition, Modesto said. Twelve other soldiers were listed in stable condition with gunshot wounds. Two other soldiers were treated for minor injuries.

The 2nd Brigade had just assumed mission status, said Johnson, meaning they would be the first brigade of the 82nd Airborne to go into action if a crisis occurred within the next three months.

Related Sites