House of Eratosthenes

The police officer who brought down a gunman after he went on a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base here was on the way to have her car repaired when she responded to a police radio report of gunfire at a center where soldiers are processed before being sent overseas, the authorities said Friday.

As she pulled up to the center, the officer, Sgt. Kimberly Denise Munley, spotted the gunman, later identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, brandishing a pistol and chasing a wounded soldier outside the building, said Chuck Medley, the director of emergency services at the base.

Sergeant Munley — a woman with a fierce love of hunting, surfing and other outdoor sports — bolted from her car, yanked her pistol out and shot at Major Hasan. He turned on her and began to fire. She ran toward him, continuing to fire, and both she and Major Hasan went down with several bullet wounds, Mr. Medley said.

Whether Sergeant Munley was solely responsible for taking down Major Hasan or whether he was also hit by gunfire from her partner is unclear, but she was the first to fire at him, the authorities said.

Sergeant Munley, 34, is an expert in firearms and a member of the SWAT team for the civilian police department on the base, officials said.

Mr. Medley said she had received specific training in a tactic called active shooter protocol, which was intended for this kind of situation.

“She’s absolutely a hero,” he said. “She had the training; she knew what to do. And she had the courage to do it — by doing it she saved countless people’s lives.”

The original 911 call came in at 1:23 p.m., and five minutes later Sergeant Munley had already shot the gunman.

Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the post commander, praised Sergeant Munley on Friday for reacting so swiftly and without hesitation. “It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer,” General Cone told The Associated Press.

Sergeant Munley began her career as a police officer in the beachside town of Wrightsville, N.C., after graduating from high school in nearby Wilmington. She quickly earned a reputation for fearlessness, despite her stature. (She stands 5-foot-4.)

Her partner in Wrightsville, Investigator Shaun Appler, recalled how Sergeant Munley saved him one night when she wrestled a large man off him after the man had pinned him down and was trying to take his gun. She earned the nickname Mighty Mouse for that, he said.

“She’s a ball of fire,” Mr. Appler said. “She’s a real good cop.”

In Britain, there is angst over the prospect of cops carrying guns.

Can you just imagine. What if a nutjob of this sort takes the time and trouble to really tool up, is not suicidal like Seung-Hui Cho…and there aren’t any armed cops?

Indeed, Munley acted under lessons learned from Virginia Tech:

Reviews in the aftermath of the shootings at Virginia Tech, where 32 died, found that first responders’ decision to be careful and wait for backup probably cost lives as that gunman moved unchecked from classroom to classroom as law enforcement massed outside.

Those findings had found their way to Fort Hood’s Special Reaction Team, which had practiced an entirely new protocol for at least a year before Thursday afternoon’s rampage here, in which 13 were killed and at least 28 wounded.

“The lesson from Virginia Tech was, don’t wait for backup but move to the target and eliminate the shooter,” says Chuck Medley, chief of Fort Hood’s emergency services. “It requires courage and it requires skill.”

It also requires arms.

I have another “imagine” moment — the opposite end of the spectrum. Imagine the liberal horror scenario in which it’s “like the wild west,” as they say. A gun on every single hip, and the familiarity with that device, and associated skill, brandished as brazenly as the hardware itself.

Gunman does his gunman malice. Charges in. Rifles blazing. Yells “Aaaaiiirrggghh!” just like Rambo. Now, how long would that last?

I’ll rant about the news coverage later. Munley is well deserving of a spotlight.

Others blogging: Cassy, Atlas, Mudville, Rick, Gerard.

It boggles my mind that our soldiers aren’t even carrying handguns on base. I mean, I can understand not allowing rifles, but handguns? Just what good did the higher ups think would come of such a policy? If this doesn’t cause a change in said policy, I don’t know what will.

Great job to Munley for her courage, would that those up the chain of command had it too.
- KG | 11/07/2009 @ 10:35
My immediate response was that all military personnel should be required to carry at least a side arm (yes, loaded!) at all times while on duty.

If we can’t trust military personnel with guns, we’re hosed. If all of them have them and one of them can’t be trusted, the problem won’t last long.
- philmon | 11/08/2009 @ 17:10
… and by “on duty” I mean “at work” — as performing any duty the military requires them to do, and that includes paper work and psychiatry, as well as chaplains.
- philmon | 11/08/2009 @ 17:12

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Kimberly Denise MunleySaturday, November 7th, 2009

Kimberly Denise Munley
Saturday, November 7th, 2009