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Officer Hailed for Heroism

KILLEEN, Texas – — A civilian police officer is being praised for taking down a man suspected of opening fire on his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood when she shot him in the torso.

Shortly after the attack began, Fort Hood Police Sgt. Kimberly Munley got the call of “shots fired.” The Soldier Readiness Processing center isn’t on Munley’s beat; she was in the area because her vehicle was in the shop. Munley, 34, was on the scene within three minutes.

As she approached the squat, rectangular building Thursday, a soldier emerged from a door with a gunman in pursuit. The officer fired, and the uniformed shooter wheeled and charged at her with a gun in each hand.

Chuck Medley, Munley’s boss, said Friday that she shot the alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, in the upper torso, allowing officers to take him into custody.

Munley was hit at least three times in the exchange — twice through the left leg and once in her right wrist. Hasan was hit four times.

From the first shots to the last, authorities say the incident that left 13 people dead and 38 wounded lasted less than 10 minutes.

It could have been much worse, officials said, but for the heroics of Munley and others.

Pfc. Amber Bahr, 19, of Random Lake, Wis., tore up her blouse and used it as a tourniquet on a wounded comrade. It was only later that she realized she’d been shot in the back.

Pfc. Marquest Smith, on his way to Afghanistan in January, was completing routine paperwork when the shooting erupted.

The 21-year-old Fort Worth native quickly grabbed the civilian worker who had been helping with his paperwork and forced her under the desk. He lay low for several minutes, waiting for the shooter to run out of ammunition.

After the shooter stopped to reload, Smith made a run for it. Pushing two other soldiers in front of him, he made it out — only to plunge back into the building twice more to help the wounded.

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