BAGHDAD — The soldier at the center of the military’s worst soldier-on-soldier violence in six years had gone to four counseling sessions. His rifle had been disabled out of fear for his safety. He had even asked military police to take him into custody, saying, “I’m done.”
Despite these warnings, a military investigation found that he still managed to steal an automatic weapon and kill five people at a base counseling center.
A report from the investigation concluded that while the soldier had received assistance, there were key lapses in how the military monitored him and how authorities responded once the shooting began at Camp Liberty, a sprawling base on the edge of Baghdad.
Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, who was taken into custody and faces five murder counts, is the only person charged in the May 11 shootings.
The incident has highlighted the issue of combat stress as troops increasingly serve multiple combat tours because the nation’s volunteer army is stretched thin by two long-running wars.
The 325-page report, released Friday and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, includes detailed witness statements and describes the unraveling of a soldier less than two months before the end of his third deployment.
The internal investigation was ordered by Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, to determine whether policies regarding service members at risk of hurting themselves or others were properly followed and whether they were adequate, said military spokesman Lt. Col. David Patterson.
A criminal investigation by the military is ongoing.
Elizabeth Ann Russell, the mother of the accused, told AP she had no comment.
In previous interviews, Russell’s father has questioned whether his son snapped under questioning by counselors or feared that his career was over.
Russell is in pretrial confinement at the Butner Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C., said Maj. Mike Garcia, spokesman at Fort Lewis, Wash., where Russell’s unit is based. He’s undergoing medical treatment with the goal of improving his condition so he can participate in a planned court-martial, Garcia said.
Dozens of pages were redacted from the report, which was posted on the website of the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq.
The military in Iraq has already implemented some of the investigation’s recommendations, Patterson said.
