Two dead after shooting at Grand Forks Air Force Base

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This article was published 31/05/2020 (1423 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two people are dead at Grand Forks Air Force Base, after a shooting early Monday.

The incident occurred at about 4:30 a.m., in a dormitory at the base, according to a statement from U.S. military officials.

Both of the dead were active-duty members of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing.

“We believe this is an isolated incident,” Col. Cameron Pringle said during a news conference.

“Our community has been through a lot in recent days and weeks and months, and we’d like to ask for your continued patience and understanding as we work through next-of-kin notifications and the investigation.”

Base emergency services responded to the scene and, by later in the morning, declared it was contained and there was no further risk to other personnel. Base medical teams have deployed disaster mental health workers to care for those impacted.

Lea Greene, a base spokeswoman, said the only two people involved in the incident had died.

Pringle said information about the incident is limited due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.

“This is a small community,” he said. “The details of the individuals involved… we have to be very careful.”

When asked whether it’s common for airmen to be armed in the dormitory at 4:30 a.m., Pringle declined to specifically answer, citing the ongoing investigation.

“Our dormitories are safe. We shouldn’t worry about the condition of the dormitories,” he said. “Our airmen are well cared for and provided with good supervision, and I’m pretty confident our leadership team is going to take care of all of our airmen in the dorms. We’ll certainly make sure we’re looking into their safety as part of this.”

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations will lead the investigation into the shooting, said Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Capt. Joel Lloyd, adding the sheriff’s office also responded to the scene, and now has two investigators assigned to assist the AFOSI.

The sheriff’s office commonly assists emergency services with calls on the base. Which agency leads the investigation is generally determined by whether the suspect is a member of the air force, in which case, military police handle the investigation, or civilian, in which case, the sheriff’s office handles the investigation, Lloyd said.

It’s the first violent death related to GFAFB since 2015, when 21-year-old Airman Marcell Travon Willis walked into a Grand Forks Walmart store and opened fire on employees, killing one and injuring another before turning the gun on himself.

— Grand Forks Herald