HEIDELBERG, Germany — The V Corps commanding general is awaiting the results of an official investigation into how a Schweinfurt soldier last week smuggled a weapon and ammunition off base, but said Wednesday that he was “confident” other weapons in the soldier’s unit are secured.
Lt. Gen. Kenneth Hunzeker said that shortly after U.S. Army authorities learned about the incident Friday, a “100 percent inventory” was ordered to be conducted in all arms rooms throughout 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, the soldier’s unit.
He said there is one arms room for each company-sized unit.
“We have confirmed 100 percent accountability of all weapons” in that battalion, Hunzeker said in a statement Wednesday.
But how authorities believe Pvt. Jeremiah Carmack obtained an M-4 carbine and at least 15 rounds of ammunition and took it off base — to threaten both his ex-girlfriend and German police with it, German police say — is not yet being disclosed.
Hunzeker said that information would be forthcoming after an investigation, being done by a V Corps colonel, is completed in the next two or three weeks.
“I want to know what happened,” Hunzeker said. “With facts.”
What is known is that Carmack was confronted in a field in the village of Altershausen, then shot by a German SWAT team Thursday night after reports that he’d broken into an ex-girlfriend’s home, bound her wrists, and threatened her with the weapon.
German police said the SWAT team opened fire on Carmack after he leveled his weapon at one of the officers. Carmack died early Friday at a German hospital from what a police spokesman said were two bullet wounds.
In the days since his death, Carmack’s MySpace page has been peppered with messages from friends and family members expressing their sense of loss.
A memorial service for Carmack will be held March 27 at the Conn Barracks chapel in Schweinfurt.
The recovered M-4 was loaded with 15 rounds, police said. German police said that Carmack had “had the gun during the day legally,” but did not elaborate.
If Carmack had had legal access to the weapon, authorities must still determine what went wrong that allowed him to keep it.
“I take this incident very seriously and have appointed a senior and experienced colonel who is conducting a thorough and complete investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident, with specific focus on ensuring that future incidents of this nature do not occur,” Hunzeker’s statement said.
“Once the entire investigation process is complete, I will direct the release of as much information as appropriate.”
The investigation is separate from one being done by the Criminal Investigation Command. The scope of the CID investigation was unclear Wednesday. CID spokesman Christopher Grey said in an e-mail that “we are working with German authorities with their investigation. I cannot get into any more detail.”
