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Lackland Air Force Base Active Shooter Situation Leaves 2 Dead [Breaking]

By Christina St Jean
Published on: 03:31 PST, Apr 8, 2016

ABC News has reported an active shooter situation is currently under way at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said, “We have victims at Lackland Air Force Base, scene is still active,” in a Tweet.

Initial reports of the incident, according to Atlanta Journal Constitution, indicate that the shooting was perhaps a murder-suicide, but this has not been confirmed. According to My San Antonio, Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said victims of the shooting have been confirmed, with an update stating that there were at least two victims in the tragedy. In addition, there is no indication as to whether a lone gunman or multiple shooters are involved in the current crisis transpiring at Lackland AFB.

Pamerleau also reported that there were deputies on the scene of the shooting and it was not yet known whether or not the person or people behind the shooting had been captured. However, there were reporters and photographers on the way to Lackland AFB to cover the shooting.

After an email alert stating there were reports of an active shooter on base, Lackland AFB was in lockdown at 9:25 a.m. CT and there was a major police response being rallied in response to the incident with the majority going to the Medina Annex to begin clearing the area. Bexar County Sheriff spokesman James Keith reported that two were dead following the shooting, according to KLFM, and Bexar County deputies have been actively engaged in clearing buildings since 9:15 this morning.

By 9:50, however, Keith was able to confirm that another tragedy had befallen military members, this time at Lackland AFB. The shooting was reported to have occurred around Building 134 on the base. Keith confirmed that there were two bodies found in Building 147. According to Western Journalism, a resident who lives near Lackland Air Force Base emailed My San Antonio and notified them that “two siren announcements went off at around 8:45 a.m. warning that an active shooter was present near Building 134 on the base.”

The FBI has responded to the scene, in addition to the other local law enforcement agencies. Lackland AFB is part of Joint Base San Antonio, a melding of the United States Army Fort Sam Houston, Randolph Air Force Base, and Lackland Air Force Base, according to Wikipedia.

Tragically, this is not the first time military members have come under fire on home soil. The deadliest shooting attack against military personnel was at Fort Hood in 2009, NBC News reported. Nidal Malik Hasan was the confirmed gunman for the shooting, and according to Washington Post, was sentenced to death for his role in the tragedy.

Reports from WWMT state that Lackland Elementary School is on lockdown. While not located on Lackland AFB, the school is still near the base. Its location at Ray Ellison Boulevard and Valley Hi has resulted in Ray Ellison being closed as well.

The lockdown has been deemed “precautionary,” according to BNO News, and Keith said it’s believed at this point that the situation has been “contained.” He also confirmed that the victims were likely a result of a murder-suicide, though nothing had been confirmed officially through an investigation.

“Right now we do believe they are the victims of a murder-suicide,” Keith told a local news channel. “We do feel the situation is contained and everything is okay at this point.”

My San Antonio reported that the identities of the victims had yet to be released, it seemed “initial internal Pentagon communications obtained by the Air Force Times, the commanding officer of the 331st K-9 Training Squadron at the base was shot by an airman.”

The situation continues to unfold.

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