US Soldier Kills 5 Fellow Soldiers
A U.S. soldier opened fire at a counseling center on a U.S. base Monday, May 11, 2009, killing five fellow soldiers before being taken into custody, the U.S. command and Pentagon officials said. On Tuesday, May 12, Maj. Gen. David Perkins told reporters that the charges were filed against Sgt. John M. Russell of the 54th Engineering Battalion based in Bamberg, Germany. Russell was taken into custody following the Monday shooting at Camp Liberty. Perkins said the dead included two doctors -- one from the Navy and the other from the Army. The other three dead were enlisted personnel. The shooting occurred at Camp Liberty, a sprawling U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city's international airport and adjacent to another facility where President Barack Obama visited last month. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the shooting a "terrible tragedy" and said Obama planned to meet with Defense Secretary Gates later in the day to discuss the matter. Gibbs sai...