Less than a year after Maj. Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting spree at a Fort Hood clinic, the unthinkable happened: Another soldier opened fire on the base.

On April 2, Spc. Ivan Lopez argued with superiors about a leave request, left the building and returned with a semi-automatic handgun. He killed one soldier and injured nine more in his unit’s administration building, then left and kept shooting as he drove toward his office.

After killing a soldier in his unit’s motor pool office and injuring two more in the vehicle bay area, he got back in his car, still shooting, and drove to a medical brigade building.

Lopez killed another soldier and wounded two more at that location, then got back in his car. About eight minutes after the rampage began, Lopez encountered a policewoman and turned his gun on himself. He had killed three soldiers and wounded 16 more.

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Ferguson was killed as he held a door closed to protect others. Staff Sgt. Carlos Lazaney-Rodriguez was shot down as he guarded a medical facility. Sgt. Timothy Owens was fatally shot as he tried to calm Lopez down.

“The loss of these three soldiers is a terrible tragedy,” Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said at the memorial service on post. “We must come together as an Army, as a community and as a nation, to learn from Wednesday’s tragic events, and support and heal one another.”

Yet even as President Barack Obama called for a renewed commitment to keeping troops safe and increased support for those with mental health issues, reports that Lopez had suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress fueled concerns among veterans that those who have served in the military, particularly in combat, will continue to be perceived as damaged by civilians.

A retired police officer who works at the Killeen, Texas, gun store where Hasan and Lopez purchased the guns they used in the shootings, said he thought soldiers with mental health problems or who are under psychological evaluation should be flagged so that gun stores will know not to sell them weapons.

The shooting also raised questions about Army rules that require personal guns to be registered and prohibit carrying those weapons on post. Republicans called for a review of the policy, but the Pentagon deflected those suggestions.

And at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing at the time, Odierno said no policy change was needed.

hlad.jennifer@stripes.com Twitter: @jhlad

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