Army probes domestic killings

last updated 8 January 2015

Fort Bragg, N.C.

Four soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg murdered their wives in the last six weeks, according to investigators. Three of the men were Army Special Forces sergeants just back from Afghanistan; two committed suicide after killing their wife. Last week, another Special Forces officer, Maj. David Shannon, was found shot to death in his bed. The multiple killings left commanders “running around in circles,” said a senior officer, and wondering if they had missed warning signs. A Defense Department task force ordered officers to closely monitor domestic-violence cases after discovering that abuse in military families rose in the 1990s, when rates nationwide were falling.