She Ran to Gunfire, and Ended It

NYT ^ | November 6, 2009 | JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

[Daffynition]

KILLEEN, Tex. — The police officer who brought down a gunman after he went on a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base here was on the way to have her car repaired when she responded to a police radio report of gunfire at a center where soldiers are processed before being sent overseas, the authorities said Friday.

As she pulled up to the center, the officer, Sgt. Kimberly Denise Munley, spotted the gunman, later identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, brandishing a pistol and chasing a wounded soldier outside the building, said Chuck Medley, the director of emergency services at the base.

Sergeant Munley — a woman with a fierce love of hunting, surfing and other outdoor sports — bolted from her car, yanked her pistol out and shot at Major Hasan. He turned on her and began to fire. She ran toward him, continuing to fire, and both she and Major Hasan went down with several bullet wounds, Mr. Medley said.

Whether Sergeant Munley was solely responsible for taking down Major Hasan or whether he was also hit by gunfire from her partner is unclear, but she was the first to fire at him, the authorities said.

Sergeant Munley, 34, is an expert in firearms and a member of the SWAT team for the civilian police department on the base, officials said.

Mr. Medley said she had received specific training in a tactic called active shooter protocol, which was intended for this kind of situation.

“She’s absolutely a hero,” he said. “She had the training; she knew what to do. And she had the courage to do it — by doing it she saved countless people’s lives.”

The original 911 call came in at 1:23 p.m., and five minutes later Sergeant Munley had already shot ...

[snip]

[El Gato]

Early reports were over 5 minutes, later it was 4 minutes, now it is under 3 minutes, pretty soon this woman will be flying to the rescue

She was working traffic about 50 yards away. Does't take long to go 50 yards, even if you are old and fat like me, rather than young, skinny and a firearms instructor like her.

[El Gato]

Generally, there are not loaded weapons on base except for those of the guards who are normally at the gates.

Also the civilian police and the MPs.

[Daffynition]

She is a precious rarity.

[El Gato]

I cannot imagine how Hassan was able to fire 100 rounds, wound or kill 46 individuals, reload 4 or 5 times, within 5 minutes. I don’t believe I could do it, even with stationary targets.

It does seem passing strange that he wasn't rushed and bashed with a chair, desk lamp, something while focusing in one direction, or was reloading. Standard magazine for the FN are only 20 rounds, although 30 are available. So he'd have to reload 4 times. Now a mag change doesn't take long, but long enough to run up and bash him from behind.

[Bad Jack Bauer]

He had an FN 5.7 and a .357 of some sort. Not clear to me if the latter as a wheel gun or a .357 Sig. Not a duty weapon. He probably hadn't even been issued one yet, since he was not very close to deployment.

Like I said, I was just guessing. I had an uncle who traveled quite a bit on business. He drove Caddys and Lincolns, never anything else. When he traveled on business he would always rent a car of the same make that he had at home. My dad asked him once why he did not drive something more exotic. His answer was that this way, he knew where everything was. The lights, stereo controls, window controls. If I was going to do something like this, I would use firearms I was familiar with.

[El Gato]

I also read somewhere that the female cop was taking her car to the repair shop and returned to the base to kill the bad guy.

Put it where the Sun don't shine.

She was working traffic for a graduation ceremony being held next door to the scene.(Next door being 50 yards or so).

[El Gato]

You can empty a 20 round magazine in about 10 - 15 seconds. 100 rounds in 5 minutes wouldn’t even be “hurried”.

Except for the hundred or so soldiers who would rushing you during the mag changes.

[El Gato]

And the civilian police wont stand a chance against assault rifles.

Unless they have M4 Carbines in their trunks. Many civilian police have those, or similar, in their trunks.

[Uri’el-2012]

Reported as a Smith & Wesson .357

[mylife]

God Bless Sgt Munley.

[mylife]

It took five minutes for this very brave woman to respond.

Have you been to FT Hood? The place is huge.

[wintertime]

You are making my point. The area is **huge**! When seconds count it takes the police minutes to get there.

So?...Don’t you think the better plan would be armed **citizens** (who could respond in seconds) rather than having only armed police that take minutes to reach the scene?

[mylife]

He had an FN 5.7 and a .357 of some sort. Not clear to me if the latter as a wheel gun or a .357 Sig

I bet it was a 357 sig. a revolver would be an odd choice, and seeing as the other pistol was a FN 5.7 it stands to reason that this guy was into wildcat cartridges.

[mylife]

yes, I think everyone should be armed.

[mylife]

heck, I cut the lawn packing L0L

One time I had to shoot a rattlesnake while I was taking a pee L0L

Remember the 7 P’s: Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

It’s good to be prepared

[Joe Brower]

"can I steal that?"

Sure. It's not originally mine, anyway.