A man opened fired in a Greensboro, North Carolina, Armed Forces Career Center on Monday after learning he was disqualified from enlisting in the Army.
Marine Corps and Navy Officials told Military Times that six people were present when James Alexander Cooper fired into the recruitment center. According to spokespeople from both the Marines and Navy, four Marines and two Navy recruiters were in the building when the shooting started.
No Army personnel were present at the time of the shooting. There were also no Air Force recruiters due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“No Marines were hurt in the incident,” Capt. Ryan Lowcher, a 4th Marine Corps District spokesperson told Military Times. No Navy personnel suffered injuries during the attack, either.
Recruiter Times shared images of the incident on their Facebook page, noting that no one was hurt when the “disgruntled” person opened fire into the recruit offices.
“Luckily the ballistic shields protected the young marine sitting in the seat and thankfully the police apprehended him,” the post stated.
Edit:
Greensboro, NC
No one was hurt, but the Army office had a disgruntled person come back and shoot up the…
Posted by Recruiter Times on Tuesday, December 15, 2020
At approximately 6:20 p.m., Cooper, 36, started shooting into the building from outside the door, the Greensboro Police Department’s Ron Glenn said.
Glenn said Cooper was apprehended nearby the scene of the crime.
A Navy Recruiting Command spokesperson said the recruits used bulletproof benches and cubicles to successfully protect themselves from the gunfire.
“The Army recruiters had only left the office 15 minutes before this situation occurred,” Recruiter Times said in a Facebook post. “He also left a package by the back door of the recruiting station.”
The Army recruiters had only left the office 15 minutes before this situation occurred. Here is the name of the suspect. He also left a package by the back door of the recruiting station.
Posted by Recruiter Times on Tuesday, December 15, 2020
“The suspect in custody had applied to join the Army but was disqualified,” said Kelli Ward, U.S. Army Recruiting Command’s director of public affairs.
According to Military Times, Cooper is being held at Greensboro Jail Central. Court records show he is charged with firing a weapon into an occupied building, as well as six misdemeanor counts of assault with a deadly weapon and a concealed-carry violation.
