SEATTLE, Washington (Isabelle Zehnder reporting) – Last Sunday's tragic shooting death of Washington State Park Ranger Margaret Anderson, 34, is believed to have been at the hands of a former Iraq war veteran who was last stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one of the military's most troubled facilities.
Former U.S. Army Pvt. First Class Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, who was found dead Monday in Mount Rainier National Park, is believed to have died from hypothermia. He was wearing only jeans, a T-shirt, and one shoe.
MSNBC reports that suicides and violence among service members at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is said to have reached record levels.
Anderson, a 34-year-old mother of two, was on patrol when she was called to establish a roadblock to stop a man who had blown through a safety checkpoint. She placed her vehicle across a road about a mile below the visitor’s center, and was joined by another park ranger, Dan Camiccia.
Authorities say a man, who they’re sure was Barnes, approached the roadblock, made a U-turn, and fired shots at both vehicles. Anderson was fatally wounded and Camiccia was able to escape, though his vehicle was shot through the windshield.
Benjamin Colton Barnes
Barnes was reportedly discharged from the Army for misconduct in 2009 after he was charged with drunken driving and improperly transporting a privately owned weapon at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Barnes is believed to have shot and wounded four people earlier in the day at a New Year’s party in Skyway near Seattle, authorities said. Two of the four shot are in critical condition.
The mother of Barnes' young child filed court papers in July seeking a protection order saying that he “has possible PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) issues, KING News reports.
She was seeking sole custody of her daughter saying Barnes was suicidal and “gets easily irritated, angry, depressed, and frustrated.”
Court documents show the woman said Barnes had numerous weapons, including firearms and knives, adding: “I am fearful of what Benjamin is capable of with the small arsenal he has in his home and his recent threat of suicide.”
Joint Base Lewis Mc-Chord - troubled past
Lewis McChord has drawn national attention for its widespread problems with post-traumatic stress disorder among service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. Barnes served in 2007 and 2008, MSNBC reports.
Last year a military newspaper Stars and Stripes rated Lewis-McChord as the most troubled base in the entire U.S. military. Click here to read their report.
The Army directed base officials last year to focus specifically on the mental health of the 5th Stryker Brigade which saw heavy action in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010.
Army Col. Ricardo M. Love reported the high number of returnees diagnosed with PTSD indicates they’re not doing enough.
The story one mom told of her son’s experience in Iraq is gut-wrenching. Read: A ‘base on the brink,’ as is the community. The Los Angeles Times article profiled the problems at Lewis-McChord just last week.
"I can tell you that in the last two years, we have had 24 instances in which we contacted soldiers who were armed with weapons," Bret Farrar, police chief in nearby Lakewood, told the newspaper. "We've had intimidation, stalking with a weapon, aggravated assault, domestic violence, drive-bys."
MSNBC reports:
The base, near Tacoma about 50 miles south of Seattle, has seen numerous violent incidents, leading to several charges and convictions of soldiers for serious crimes. According to The Seattle Times, they include:
- Pfc. Dakota Wolf, 19, who is charged in the stabbing death Nov. 30 of a 19-year-old woman in a Seattle suburb while AWOL.
- Sgt. David Stewart, 38, who killed himself and his wife after leading authorities on a high-speed chase in April. Their 5-year-old son was found dead at home.
- Spc. Ivette Gonzalez Davis, 24, who was sentenced to life in prison in August 2010 for shooting two soldiers and kidnapping their baby.
- Sgt. Sheldon Plummer, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for strangling his wife in February 2010.
Standoff ends: Iraq war veteran suspected in park ranger’s murder found dead
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