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Officers guard an entrance to the Beaumont Army Medical Center/El Paso VA campus during the search for a gunman Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2014. | |
Los Angeles Times (TNS)
Published: January 6, 2015
The person who caused a lockdown at an Army hospital in Texas apparently shot and wounded a doctor before taking his or her own life, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke confirmed Tuesday.
Fort Bliss Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty said at a news conference Tuesday night that a gunman and one other person are dead. He said the shooting happened at the El Paso Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The clinic is in a complex that includes the William Beaumont Army Medical Center.
The Beaumont Medical Center was placed on lockdown shortly before 4 p.m. local time after reports surfaced that there was an active shooter on the grounds.
John Meza, a communications director for O’Rourke, whose district includes El Paso, said Army personnel think the person found dead on the hospital grounds is the gunman. He declined to comment further.
The identities of the shooter and the doctor were not immediately clear.
Nearby Fort Bliss was not locked down, base spokesman Gil Telles said.
“If it’s an active shooter, there’s been some gunplay, I guess,” Telles said. “We can’t confirm what’s going on at this point.”
O’Rourke, a Democrat who has championed veteran issues, offered words of support to hospital staffers on his Twitter account.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women at the El Paso VA clinic,” he wrote.
Los Angeles Times staff writer Matt Pearce contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was also used.
©2015 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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