Soldier Dies After Shooting Herself at Fort Lee, Va. Army Base

Updated: Aug. 25, 4:57 p.m.

A soldier at the Fort Lee U.S. Army base in Virginia has died after shooting herself in the head Monday morning.

According to the Associated Press, the soldier barricaded herself in an office and was throwing objects while enforcement officials tried to talk her down. She eventually shot herself. It’s unknown whether the soldier suffered from mental health issues.

An earlier statement posted on the U.S. Army Fort Lee Facebook page said the incident sparked a lockdown after reports of a shooter on base.

“Fort Lee first responders responded to a report of a female Soldier with a gun inside the Combined Arms Support Command Headquarters, Bldg. 5020 at approximately 9 a.m. today. Early reports indicate the Soldier turned the weapon on herself and fired one shot, injuring herself,” said the statement.

The base said the shooter had been transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. The army said it would begin an investigation.

The shooting comes just a few months after a soldier at Fort Hood Army base in Texas shot and killed four people and injured several more. That shooter, Army Spc. Ivan Lopez, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.