Police officer confronted gunman and shot him four times despite being wounded herself
Helen Pidd
Guardian [UK]
Friday 6 November 2009
The civilian police officer who shot and “subdued” the gunman responsible for the Fort Hood killings was today hailed as a hero.
Sergeant Kimberly Munley was praised for her “amazing and aggressive performance” by the top commander at Fort Hood, Lieutenant General Bob Cone, who credited her with stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at the Texas post. Munley shot the gunman four times despite being wounded herself.
Cone said Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfireyesterday afternoon. Munley had been directing traffic moments before she confronted the gunman, the New York Daily News reported.
Munley, who had been trained in active-response tactics, rushed into the building and confronted the shooter as he was turning a corner, Cone said.
“It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer,” Cone said.
Munley was only a few feet from army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan when she opened fire.
Munley was reported to be in a stable condition at a local hospital.
She was well enough to spend last night phoning fellow officers to find out about casualties in the attack, the New York Daily News reported.
Cone said Munley’s aggressive response training taught her that “if you act aggressively to take out a shooter you will have less fatalities”.
“She walked up and engaged him,” he said. He praised her as “one of our most impressive young police officers”.