Multiple Shootings at Fort Dix Compound

FORT DIX, N.J.: A military reservist wanted for shooting two men Friday at the Army Reserve post at Fort Dix fled the base and shot two police officers before being found dead in a parking lot, according to police and broadcast reports.

It wasn't immediately clear if the gunman was shot by police or if he killed himself. He was found outside of the Columbus Farmer's Market and Shopping Center, about 10 miles from the base, the television station reported.

"All of the sudden we heard semi-automatic rifle fire, and then there must have been about 45 or 50 cop cars and a helicopter," said Joan Hulling's, an employee at Arnie's Columbus Subs in the shopping center. "We heard two officers were down, the shooter was dead."

The first shootings happened at the base at 12:43 p.m. when the gunman shot one man in the chest and another in the thigh and abdomen outside of a barracks building, said Kryn Westhoven, a Fort Dix spokesman. The argument was apparently some sort of domestic dispute, state police spokesman John Hagerty said. He did not believe the shooting was related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Westhoven said the gunman fled in a Department of Defense police cruiser with white, yellow and blue markings. Officials were using ground and air surveillance to find him but he was able to get off the base, Westhoven said.

"We initially thought we had him closed in. I have no idea how he got off," Westhoven said.

The gunman shot the police officers sometime after leaving the base, the television station reported. The officers' conditions were not immediately known.

The two injured soldiers were taken by helicopter to Cooper Hospital in Camden and Capital Health System, Fuld campus, Cooper spokeswoman Brenda Hecker said. Their injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

Fort Dix specializes in training and mobilizing reserves and the National Guard.

Troops have recently been called-up to the base as part of President Bush's homeland defense initiative. The troops there will augment security at the post and nearby facilities it is responsible for.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the post has increased its security in and around the base. Officials have restricted public access to its roads for only the second time since the post opened in 1917 to train soldiers heading off to World War I. The first time was during World War II.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 - ABC, Action News