Police, CID Arrest Fort Knox Soldier in Shooting

By Alicia Cruz

Base criminal investigators and civilian police in Portland, Tennessee have apprehended an Army soldier they suspect is responsible for a shooting aboard Kentucky Army Base, Fort Knox.

The soldier, identified in police documents as Marquinta E. Jacobs, reportedly shot a Fort Knox civilian employee in what investigators are calling a "personal incident."

The suspect, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division aboard Fort Knox, was taken into custody near his mother's home in Tennessee.

The victim, who worked at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, was pronounced dead approximately an hour after the shooting at Ireland Army Community Hospital. His injuries were the result of several gunshot wounds from a .45-caliber handgun.

According to media reports, Chris Grey, spokesperson for the AIA, said the shooting occurred  in a parking lot aboard the base sometime after 5:30 p.m. (EST) Wednesday. Grey added that the shooting was not a random act of violence, but no motive has been named. The shooting sparked a brief lock down of the entire base, but officials say Fort Knox remained in a heightened state of security into Wednesday night.

Fort Knox, located south of  Louisville, Ky., spans approximately 170 miles in three counties and is adjacent to the famous federal gold depository. This weeks shooting comes less than two weeks after a Marine assigned to the Officer's Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia shot himself and two colleagues to death.