The Army has released information on the female soldier who shot herself Monday morning in an office on the grounds of Fort Lee in Virginia. The woman, Sgt. Paula M. Walker, died after being taken to a hospital. From the Army’s statement, via The Wire:
Walker’s hometown of record is Yonkers, N.Y. She served on active duty for nearly 14 years after enlisting in September 2000. Prior to Fort Lee, Walker served at Fort Devens, Mass., starting in 2010 and Fort Eustis starting in 2006, among other installations.
Her career included a 15-month combat tour in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2007-2008.
The statement said Walker was a human resources specialist, though it isn’t clear whether that was always her role in the service. (Human resource specialists can be deployed in combat.) Army Maj. Gen. Stephen Lyons told reporters that Walker had thrown objects in a “rampage” and spoken with negotiators who’d arrived on scene before shooting herself.
Walker was 33.
