{"id":47539,"date":"2020-09-16T23:26:39","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T23:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/16\/barracks-searched-for-unregistered-firearms-other-violations-following-fort-bliss-shooting\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:37:20","slug":"barracks-searched-for-unregistered-firearms-other-violations-following-fort-bliss-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/09\/16\/barracks-searched-for-unregistered-firearms-other-violations-following-fort-bliss-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Barracks searched for unregistered firearms, other violations following Fort Bliss shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An order issued by the 1st Armored Division<\/a> commanding general permitted units to look for any unregistered firearms in soldiers’ vehicles and rooms on Fort Bliss, Texas, following a shooting that occurred on post<\/a> just after midnight Tuesday, according to a source at the installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But post officials told Army Times the search was not explicitly intended to look for weapons, though it did give them the ability to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fragmentary order was issued to all of 1st Armored Division to conduct a 100 percent \u201chealth and welfare inspection of the barracks and personal areas in an effort to ensure good order and discipline,” said Lt. Col. Allie Payne, a division spokeswoman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat did give us the ability to look for weapons if there are any unregistered,\u201d Payne said over the telephone Wednesday afternoon. Whether or not any unregistered weapons were found was not immediately available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was not targeted at anyone or for any particular outcome, but it does provide the opportunity to look for violations of commander\u2019s policies or violations of barracks policies,” Payne wrote in a follow-on email. “It is within a commander\u2019s purview to call health and welfare inspections at any point they feel appropriate and prudent to maintaining good order and discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five military police shot a 20-year-old infantryman just after midnight Tuesday after he threatened MPs with a handgun, according to Fort Bliss officials. The soldier, who is in stable condition at an El Paso hospital, was not identified by the Army, though officials did say he had been in the service for less than a year and only assigned to Fort Bliss for about three weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MPs were called after a private company\u2019s driver, who was picking up the soldier, said he was behaving erratically. The driver did not feel safe and asked a bystander to call emergency services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the MPs arrived, they were unable to deescalate the situation and \u201cboth parties\u201d exchanged gunshots after the soldier brandished a handgun at MPs, according to Fort Bliss officials. The number of shots fired was not provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegarding the subject\u2019s weapon in yesterday\u2019s incident, that information is still in discovery,\u201d Payne said when asked whether the soldier\u2019s firearm was properly registered with MPs and his unit. \u201cAs stated yesterday, we did recover his weapon from the scene, past that it is still with the investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Army CID spokesman Chris Grey did not immediately return a request for comment about the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service members are allowed to own personal weapons and keep those weapons on post. However, weapons must be properly registered with their unit and the MP office, according to Payne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For soldiers who live in the barracks, properly registered weapons are stored in the unit arms rooms when not properly signed out by the owner, she stated. Residents of on-post housing may be allowed to store the weapon at home in accordance with a lease agreement, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n