Henrietta, N.Y. –1st Lt. Brian Roman is home on leave from a deployment to Iraq, and like the rest of us, was shocked when he heard the news from Fort Hood.
He described Fort Hood as a safe place...every bit as much a community as his hometown of Henrietta.
Roman said most of the people he knows from Fort Hood are deployed with him in Iraq, so he hasn't had much contact with anyone at the post.
But he said he's very familiar with the Soldier Readiness Center where the attack played out. He was processed at the center before leaving for Iraq. He described the building as a big open space that would make this kind of shooting easy to carry out.
“Seeing the setting that that building is in, it would be easy to just pull out a weapon and spray bullets and hit random people,” Roman said. “You wouldn't really have to aim too well if the place is crowded. There might be some policy changes either immediately as a reaction, or as prevention, in the future.”
First Lt. Roman will return to Fort Hood in April after his deployment. He said he still sees it as a safe place, saying yesterday's shooting was an isolated incident.
He also said getting a weapon onto the post is not easy, even for members of the military. He said he's sure that's a big part of the investigation right now.
