page_title: 2015 Fort Bliss shooting
section_title: Shooting
hierarchical_section_title: 2015 Fort Bliss shooting / Shooting
caption_attribution_description: William Beaumont Army Medical Center, shown here outside the base at the now decommissioned Piedras Gate Entrance facing north. The VA clinic is located in the foreground of this image. The Piedras Gate, formally one of the primary entrances onto this part of the base, was permanently closed following the 9/11 attacks.
context_page_description: The 2015 Fort Bliss shooting occurred on January 6, 2015, when Jerry Serrato, a 48-year-old U.S. Army veteran, fatally shot Dr. Timothy Fjordbak, a psychologist, at the Veteran's Affairs clinic located on the grounds of William Beaumont Army Medical Center of Fort Bliss, Texas. No further casualties were reported during the shooting. However, the shooting and the subsequent emergency response resulted in the lock-down of the hospital and two nearby schools for nearly two hours while law enforcement officials worked to resolve the situation.
context_section_description: At approximately 3:10 p.m. MST on January 6, 2015, 48-year-old Jerry Serrato, an Ohio Army National Guardsman who later served in the regular U.S. Army, shot 63-year-old Timothy Fjordbak, a psychologist who left private practice to work with military veterans in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The incident resulted in a "code white" declaration at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, advising people that an active shooter was present and to take shelter. 
  The shooting sparked a massive multi-agency response, with officers from Fort Bliss's Military Police, the El Paso Police Department, the El Paso SWAT team, the El Paso Independent School District Police Department, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agencies, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation responding to the report of an active shooter in the area. Ground personnel were reinforced by two Department of Homeland Security helicopters, both of which took up station in circular pattern around the VA clinic and hospital during the stand off. In addition, the nearby Bassett Middle School and Travis Elementary School went on lock-down following the reports of an active shooter in the area. 
  In the aftermath of the shooting, the FBI assumed responsibility for the investigation and began processing the estimated 400 witnesses for testimony while simultaneously collecting evidence from the VA center. In a press release shortly after the situation was resolved, it was announced that the hospital and VA clinic would be closed on Wednesday to allow the FBI to process the scene. Despite the two fatalities, the response to the active shooting was described as "a model of how to respond."
caption: William Beaumont Army Medical Center, shown here outside the base at the now decommissioned Piedras Gate Entrance facing north. The VA clinic is located in the foreground of this image.
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