The police officer who stopped Major Nidal Malik Hasan from killing or wounding any more people is still alive, though hospitalized.
Sgt. Kimberly Munley of the Killeen (Texas) Police Department was in the right place at the right time, according to Lt. Gen. Robert Cone USA, the commandant of Fort Hood. The details of her involvement are sketchy, but they add up to this: Three minutes into the shooting, she realized at once that she was close to someone who was shooting everyone in sight, or so it seemed. She fired off four rounds into Major Hasan and dropped him. Somewhere in the process, she took a bullet herself.
The earlier, never-confirmed reports that she'd been calling on her cellphone to check up on people while in transit to the hospital have not been repeated. From the report given by an MP at the scene, Sgt. Munley might not have been in any condition to make any such calls.
Several media outlets, among them CNN and the London Daily Telegraph, located a Twitter account called "hope2forget30" with the name "Kim Munley" listed as the real name on this account. That account has one photograph, taken at FreedomFest in July of this year. It shows a woman in a police officer's uniform, with the name "Kim Munley" prominent on the right chest. Many, many "tweeps," who all assume that this is the same Kimberly Munley, have left heartfelt "tweets" of thanks. Obviously Sgt. Munley, if this is her account, cannot respond, but the owner of the account has not "tweeted" anything back, either, much less disclaimed the identification. (Several news outlets have chosen to use the FreedomFest photograph. This Examiner has elected not to do so, pending confirmation of the identification and clarification of rights to its use.)
If the Twitter account is genuine, then this biography from that account would go far to explain Sgt. Munley's attitude:
I live a good life....a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life.
Those who are able to recover from their wounds, with one possible exception, would certainly agree that she made a very positive difference in their lives.
Comments
Officer Munley may be a civilian, rather than a military service member, but she certainly fought the good fight yesterday.
Get well soon Sgt Munley. We need more heroes like you and less cowards like Hasan (may he live with the cummulative pain of all his victims for the rest of his life and rot in hell for eternity).
Thank God we have Americans like Officer Kimberly Munley. People that are well trained and have the fortitude to do the very hard jobs that simply must be done. Law enforcement officers and our military are often America's last line of defense. She reflects great honor upon her family and her profession for the actions she performed at Fort Hood.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!