The military has identified the Schweinfurt-based soldier killed early Friday in a standoff with German police as a 30-year-old logistics specialist with the 1st Batallion, 18th Infantry Regiment.
Pvt. Jeremiah W. Carmack, of Union, Ohio, joined the regiment in July 2007, according to a release issued late Saturday night by U.S. Army Europe officials.
Little biographical information about Carmack was available on Sunday. Union is a small town in southwest Ohio with a population of around 6,000. A phone call to the only “Carmack” in the town’s phone listings reached a number that had been disconnected.
Over the weekend, soldiers at Carmack’s unit in Schweinfurt declined comment about the soldier, referring questions to public affairs officers.
Lt. Col. Richard Spiegel, a U.S. Army Europe spokesman, said on Sunday that the military has appointed “a senior V Corps officer to conduct an internal investigation into the incident.”
Spiegel declined to name the officer, saying only that it was a “senior and experienced” colonel.
“It is policy not to release the names of investigating officers to fully enable them to conduct their investigations without interference,” he said.
That investigation is expected to look into several questions, including how Carmack was able to take a military weapon off-base. German media on Sunday reported that police officials said Carmack’s M-4 carbine had a half-full ammunition magazine, though police have not said that Carmack fired any shots during the standoff.
Carmack died around 4:50 a.m. in a Schweinfurt hospital after being shot at least twice by a German SWAT team. Police said he attempted to take a former girlfriend hostage in Altershausen, then pointed his weapon at a police team that found him later in a nearby field.
After the shooting, Army leaders in Schweinfurt sought to reassure local German officials that the safety of the community is a top concern.
Col. Jeffrey Sinclair, the brigade commander, and garrison commander Lt. Col. Anthony Haagar, both met with Schweinfurt’s mayor after the incident, according to a 2nd Brigade spokesman.
The spokesman, Maj. Eric Stetson, said the brigade has safeguards in place to prevent what happened on Thursday night. The Schweinfurt Army community’s “heart goes out” to the woman who was assaulted and a thorough investigation is under way, Stetson said.
