2015 Fort Bliss shooting

The 2015 Fort Bliss shooting occurred on January 6,2015, when Jerry Serrato, a 48-year-old U.S. Army vet-eran, fatally shot Dr. Timothy Fjordbak, a mental healthdoctor, at the Veterans Affairs clinic located on thegrounds of William Beaumont Army Medical Center ofFort Bliss, Texas. No further casualties were reportedduring the shooting, however the shooting and the subse-quent response to it resulted in the lock-down of the hos-pital and two nearby schools for nearly two hours whilelaw enforcement officials worked to resolve the situation.

1 Background

See also: Fort Bliss and Veterans Health Administrationscandal of 2014

In the summer 2014, amid the Veterans Affairs scan-dal, it was reported that Fort Blisss Veterans Affairsclinic had one of the longest waiting times in the U.S.,with an average wait time of 60 days to see a medicalprofessional.[1] During this time, it was noted by Con-gressman Beto O'Rourke that El Pasos VA clinic had fiveopen spots for mental health professionals that had yet tobe filled, despite the fact that Fort Bliss has approximately40,000 soldiers stationed at the base.[1]

In the late summer of 2014, Fort Bliss increased its secu-rity detail in response to claims that there was an ISISpresence in Ciudad Jurez, Mexico, and that they hadmade unspecified threats against the base.[2][3] Despitethe increased measures taken, two separate installationsstudies conducted by the Department of Defense foundFort Blisss installation security to be inadequate.[4] Asa result of these studies, then newly named comman-der Major General Stephen Twitty announced securitychanges for the post that would go into effect during thelatter half of 2014.[4]

2 Shooting

At approximately 3:10 p.m. MST[5] on January 6,2015, 48-year-old Jerry Serrato, an Ohio Army NationalGuardsman who later served in the regular U.S. Army,shot 63-year-old Timothy Fjordbak, a psychologist wholeft private practice to work with military veterans in theaftermath of the September 11 attacks.[6] The incidentresulted in a code white declaration at William Beau-

William Beaumont Army Medical Center, shown here outside thebase at the now decommissioned Piedras Gate Entrance facingnorth. The VA clinic is located in the foreground of this image.

mont Army Medical Center, advising people that an ac-tive shooter was present and to take shelter.[7]

The shooting sparked a massive multi-agency response,with officers from Fort Blisss Military Police,[8] the ElPaso Police Department,[8] the El Paso SWAT team,the El Paso Independent School District Police De-partment, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security'sImmigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs andBorder Protection agencies,[8] and the Federal Bureauof Investigation[8] responding to the report of an activeshooter in the area. Ground personnel were reinforced bytwo Department of Homeland Security helicopters, bothof which took up station in circular pattern around theVA clinic and hospital during the stand off.[9] In addition,the nearby Bassett Middle School and Travis ElementarySchool went on lock-down following the reports of an ac-tive shooter in the area.[10]

After approximately two hours, the situation was reportedto be under control, with initial reports indicating the doc-tor and the alleged shooter to have been killed.[11] In theaftermath of the shooting, the FBI assumed responsibil-ity for the investigation[8] and began processing the es-timated 400 witnesses[12] for testimony while simultane-ously collecting evidence from the VA center. In a pressrelease shortly after the situation was resolved, it was an-nounced that the hospital and VA clinic would be closedon Wednesday to allow the FBI to process the scene.[8]Despite the two fatalities, the response to the active shoot-ing was described as a model of how to respond.[12]

1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Blisshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Blisshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Health_Administration_scandal_of_2014https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Health_Administration_scandal_of_2014https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beto_O%2527Rourkehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISIShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciudad_Ju%C3%A1rezhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_General_(United_States)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Twittyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Standard_Timehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohiohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_National_Guardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_National_Guardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychologisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_practicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attackshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Beaumont_Army_Medical_Centerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Beaumont_Army_Medical_Centerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Beaumont_Army_Medical_Centerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Policehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso_Police_Departmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso_Police_Departmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWAT_teamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso_Independent_School_Districthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Securityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Customs_Enforcementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Customs_and_Border_Protectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Customs_and_Border_Protectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation

2 4 REFERENCES

3 Shooter

Jerry Serrato, 48, was identified as the shooter. Heis said to have been a member of the Ohio Army Na-tional Guard, enlisting in 1985 and serving until 1996.He later enlisted in the United States Army in July 2006.Serrato served in Iraq as an infantryman with the 10thMountain Division's 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th BrigadeCombat Team at Fort Polk, Louisiana fromMarch to July2007 before being medically discharged with undisclosedphysical ailments in February 2009. At the time of hisdischarge, he held the rank of specialist, and had beenawarded the National Defense Service Medal, the IraqCampaign Medal with a campaign star, a Global Waron Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Rib-bon.[13]

Serrato had worked in the El Paso VA as a desk clerk in2013, and had been involved in an verbal altercation withvictim Timothy Fjordbak prior to the shooting.[13]

4 References[1] Dallas VAs wait time for new mental health patients

among longest. Dallasnews.com. 2014-06-10. Re-trieved 2015-01-08.

[2] Military Experts: With ISIS in El Paso, Ft. Bliss in Dan-ger of Terrorist Attack. September 4, 2014. Retrieved2015-01-08.

[3] ISIS Reportedly Targets Fort Bliss In Texas. Inquisitr.2014-09-05. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[4] Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty (2014). Enhanced forceprotection measures to be implemented. Fort Bliss Bugle.Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[5] Update: El Paso VA Health Care System shooter, vic-tim dead; Hundreds of potential witnesses, officials say.2015-01-06. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[6] Fort Bliss to ramp up security efforts after VA hospitalshooting. Fox News. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[7] Russell Contreras and Seth Robbins (2015-01-07).Official Says Fort Bliss Shooter Was Retired Soldier.Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[8] FBI identifies doctor, shooter killed in VA clinic shoot-ing. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[9] Victor Calzada (2015-01-06). FBI to question 100s ofpatients after Texas clinic shooting. El Paso Times. Re-trieved 2015-01-08.

[10] Update: El Paso VA Health Care System shooter, vic-tim dead; Hundreds of potential witnesses, officials say.2015-01-07. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[11] El Paso Veterans Affairs Clinic Shooting Incident. Lt.Col. Lee Peters. 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[12] FBI: El Paso clinic victim was VA doctor who had filedcomplaint against alleged killer. Washington Post. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

[13] Elahe Izadi, Dan Lamothe and Emily Wax-Thibodeaux(2015-01-07). FBI: El Paso clinic victim was VA doctorwho had filed complaint against alleged killer. Washing-ton Post. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_National_Guardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_National_Guardhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Mountain_Divisionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Mountain_Divisionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/89th_Cavalry_Regimenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Polkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specialist_(rank)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Service_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Campaign_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Campaign_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_War_on_Terrorism_Service_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_War_on_Terrorism_Service_Medalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Service_Ribbonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Service_Ribbonhttp://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140610-dallas-vas-wait-time-for-new-mental-health-patients-among-longest.ecehttp://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140610-dallas-vas-wait-time-for-new-mental-health-patients-among-longest.ecehttp://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2014/09/military-experts-isis-el-paso-ft-bliss-danger-terrorist-attack/http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2014/09/military-experts-isis-el-paso-ft-bliss-danger-terrorist-attack/http://www.inquisitr.com/1455519/isis-reportedly-targets-fort-bliss-in-texas/http://fortblissbugle.com/enhanced-force-protection-measures-to-be-implemented/http://fortblissbugle.com/enhanced-force-protection-measures-to-be-implemented/http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/BREAKING-EPPD-assisting-Fort-Bliss-over-reports-of-active-shooter-at-WBAMC-67279.shtml#.VK8DZMnupD0http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/BREAKING-EPPD-assisting-Fort-Bliss-over-reports-of-active-shooter-at-WBAMC-67279.shtml#.VK8DZMnupD0http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/08/fort-bliss-to-ramp-up-security-efforts-after-va-hospital-shooting/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/08/fort-bliss-to-ramp-up-security-efforts-after-va-hospital-shooting/http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Official-Says-Fort-Bliss-Shooter-Was-Retired-Soldier-287841311.htmlhttp://www.ktsm.com/news/breaking-eppd-fort-bliss-officials-responding-active-shooter-situation-vahttp://www.ktsm.com/news/breaking-eppd-fort-bliss-officials-responding-active-shooter-situation-vahttp://news.yahoo.com/fbi-hundreds-witnesses-hospital-shooting-062049552.htmlhttp://news.yahoo.com/fbi-hundreds-witnesses-hospital-shooting-062049552.htmlhttp://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/BREAKING-EPPD-assisting-Fort-Bliss-over-reports-of-active-shooter-at-WBAMC-67279.shtml#.VK8GSsnupD0http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/BREAKING-EPPD-assisting-Fort-Bliss-over-reports-of-active-shooter-at-WBAMC-67279.shtml#.VK8GSsnupD0http://d3py2h68ersavw.cloudfront.net/files/ktsm/EPVA%2520Clinic%2520Shooting%2520Incident.pdfhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/01/06/doctor-shot-presumed-shooter-found-dead-at-el-paso-va-clinic/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/01/06/doctor-shot-presumed-shooter-found-dead-at-el-paso-va-clinic/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/01/06/doctor-shot-presumed-shooter-found-dead-at-el-paso-va-clinic/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/01/06/doctor-shot-presumed-shooter-found-dead-at-el-paso-va-clinic/

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