Killeen Police spokeswoman Carroll Smith said police were called to the Monaghan Apartments shortly after 8:30 a.m. for a report of a man with a gun.
When officers arrived at 1807 N. 2nd St., they saw two men struggling on a second story balcony and one of them had a gun.
“When officers arrived, they saw the soldier hit the lieutenant and then he shot the lieutenant,” Smith said.
Officers drew their weapons and fired several shots at the man, before he turned the gun on himself and took his own life, Smith said.
The man, an Army specialist stationed at Fort Hood, was only two weeks away from ending his Army career and going home.
The lieutenant and a staff sergeant were at the soldier’s apartment to check on the soldier, after equipment from a unit arms room had been reported missing.
The equipment reported missing was sights commonly used on automatic weapons.
Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, III Corps commanding general, said the members of the soldier’s unit were there to check on him and to see if he knew anything about the missing equipment.
“They went to his house to see if he had those sights,” Lynch said. “He barricaded himself behind the doors and the lieutenant called the police.”
Lynch said while they may know something of what led to the shooting, they may not know everything until authorities have concluded their investigation.
“I just wish that didn’t happen,” Lynch said.
The soldier apparently had lived alone in the small apartment since January.
“I never had any issues with him at all,” said Raul Helms, the manager of Monaghan Properties. “He was paid up on his rent through the month.”
Authorities would not release the unit that the soldiers belong to, and declined to release their names pending notification of next of kin.
Justice of the Peace Bill Cooke pronounced both men dead shortly before 10 a.m.
Helms had been contacted earlier in the morning by the soldier’s unit and told that they were coming to check on one of their soldiers. He was in his office when the lieutenant and the staff sergeant came in to see the soldier.
“They just wanted to make sure he was OK,” Helms said. “I took them up there and dropped them off and he seemed fine. This is just sad.”
