Soldier at Ft. Lee dies after apparently shooting herself

The Army said a female soldier at Ft. Lee barricaded herself in an office and apparently killed herself in an intense morning event that caused the central Virginia military base to go on a nearly hourlong lockdown.

The soldier was pronounced dead at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center after the incident, which began about 8:45 a.m., the Army said Monday afternoon.

The soldier allegedly entered the Combined Arms Support Command Headquarters building with a weapon and went into an office, the Army said.

An alert was then sounded, the installation was put on lockdown, and all access gates were closed temporarily.

“Ft. Lee police responded within two minutes of the incident being reported and quickly established contact with the individual,” the military said. “During the course of negotiation with the soldier, she reportedly turned the weapon on herself.”

An “all-clear” message was issued at the base shortly around 9:50 a.m., the Army said. All gates were then reopened for normal operations.

The soldier’s name has not been released, in accordance with Department of Defense policy, but Ft. Lee said on its Facebook page that she was a sergeant first class and had 14 years of service. No other injuries were reported.

Special agents from the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command are looking into the incident, the Army said.

The base is about 25 miles south of Virginia’s capital, Richmond. It is about 130 miles south of Washington.

Ft. Lee is the third-largest training site in the Army, according to the base’s website. Its daily population averages about 34,000, including members from all branches, their families, civilians and contractors.

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