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Lax security blamed after deadly shooting

The Camp Liberty Combat Stress Center in Baghdad, Iraq, where a soldier is accused of shooting and killing four other soldiers and a Naval officer on May 11, had “numerous physical security deficiencies” that put staff and patients at risk, according to a report released Friday.

Many of the patients seen by the center’s staff are “potentially violent,” according to the AR 15-6 investigation into the shooting. And the report highlighted several problems, among them inadequate locks on the one-story building’s exterior doors, training for staff and storage for weapons.

The investigation also found the 54th Engineer Battalion, the unit to which the accused shooter belongs, did not have formal written policies and procedures in place regarding behavioral health treatment. Instead, the battalion relied heavily on the battalion chaplain’s expertise.

Sgt. John M. Russell is accused in the shooting. He faces five counts of murder, two specifications of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault.

Russell, who was 44 at the time of the shootings, is in pre-trial confinement in Kuwait. He was escorted into the Combat Stress Center where he got into an argument with the staff and was asked to leave, according to original reports.

Russell left the center but later returned, this time with a weapon, and he is accused of firing into the clinic and killing the five people.

Russell was 12 months into his third tour in Iraq and had been to the center before.

Two of the shooting victims were officers who worked at the clinic. They were Maj. (Dr.) Matthew P. Houseal, 54, a psychiatrist, and Navy Cmdr. Charles K. Springle, 52.

Also killed were Staff Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, 25; Spc. Jacob D. Barton, 20; and Pfc. Michael E. Yates Jr., 19.

Also cited was the reaction of the military police on duty at Camp Liberty.

The report states that the MPs failed to contact the Combat Stress Center after learning that the accused had stolen a weapon and a vehicle. Because of that, staff members at the center were unable to take any protective measures, according to the report. The MPs should also have sent a patrol unit to the center, the report states.