This articles discusses the shootings committed by an Iraq veteran at Fort Hood that occurred April 2nd, 2014. The shooter, Ivan Lopez, killed three soldiers and wounded sixteen others. Lopez had a history of depression and was in the process of being tested for PTSD, although his doctors didn't believe he would become violent and dangerous to others. Investigators of the crime do not know Lopez's motivation, as he shot himself after being confronted by a military police officer.
This article relates to AP Gov. because it deals with the US's military and gun control. Soldiers are not supposed to possess weapons on the base, yet the shooter shot his victims with his own personal handgun. It makes me wonder how the military enforced that law if Lopez snuck his own weapon onto the base.
I think this is a really sad event. All mass shootings are horrible and wrong, but Fort Hood already went through a shooting five years ago. I can't pretend I have any answers as to how to prevent these shootings, as they seem to be occurring more and more frequently. It makes me mad that people like Lopez can kill and hurt as much as they want and then take their own lives to avoid the consequences of their actions.
I agree this is horrible and it is crazy that the military didn't in force such a important law. I don't think he should have been allowed to have a weapon if he had a history of depression.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a prevalent issue due to the fact that many soldiers are coming back from the Middle East which means we have increased numbers of veterans. After experiencing the trauma of war it is not shocking that some, like Lopez, resort to violence back home. I believe we need to pay more attention and invest more in identifying and treating issues such as PTSD quickly and efficiently.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was an extremely traumatic event especially since Fort Hood had already experienced such a tragedy. I would like to know more about the laws regarding gun control on base, because I think its important that laws are modified in the near future to prevent such atrocities from occurring again.
ReplyDeleteSituations like these are very tough because everyone wonders what could have been done to stop it. In some cases, nothing can be done unfortunately. If people are crazy enough to commit such heinous acts, they are dedicated and will find a way. However I don't understand how he has his personal handgun on base.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many shootings in the news now! I would like to know who were the security officers on duty then and who let him so easily bring an unauthorized weapon on the base.
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