Triangle, Va. (March 21) -- On March 21, three Marines assigned to Officer Candidates School were killed during a shooting incident in Taylor Hall at OCS. Following initial reports of the shooting, the Provost Marshal’s Office and officers from the Prince William County police department responded.
Pronounced dead at the scene were Lance Cpl. Sara Castromata, 19, of Oakley, Calif., Cpl. Jacob Wooley, 23, of Guntown, Miss., and Sgt. Eusebio Lopez, 25, of Pacifica, Calif. All three Marines were part of permanent personnel support staff for OCS.
Naval Criminal Investigative Service has identified Lopez as the alleged shooter. The incident remains under investigation.
Late Thursday night, reports of the shooting pushed the base into Force Protection Condition - Delta, the base’s highest security condition. Immediately, the base was on alert as military police, security support from Prince William Police Department and emergency responders reacted to the call.
“Very quickly it was determined that a mass notification via the Giant Voice System would alert personnel there was an incident and to remain indoors,” said Peter Streng, the base’s director of operations. “At the same time, we made the decision to raise the force protection.” This decision denied base entry to anyone without DOD identification and screened and searched those people who were exiting the base.
“Soon after the 911 call, we stood up the Emergency Operations Center at Lejeune Hall to assist the command at OCS in managing the tactical operations,” Streng said. The EOC did not take control of the situation, but rather prepared to send assets to assist the OCS commander.
Examples of the EOC’s support included the activation of the Quantico Marine Band’s secondary mission as a Security Augmentation Force and mobilization of the Explosive Ordnance Detachment for the use of their specialized monitoring equipment.
Throughout Thursday night and into Friday, key staff and other members of the EOC coordinated and provided capabilities the OCS such as chaplain support, family support and personnel support, as well as coordinate the more than 30 news outlets and satellite news trucks that had arrived at the museum for the press briefing at 7 a.m. on Friday.
While the events unfolded at OCS, all the base’s support organizations worked together and acted seamlessly, according to Streng.
“We have good procedures and we exercised those procedures,” Streng said. “There are always things in hindsight that you can do better, and it’s certainly unfortunate that three people lost their lives, but we’ll use the experiences we gained on March 22 to review our plans, update those plans and move forward.”
The tragic incident was felt throughout OCS, across the base and across the Marine Corps.
“The OCS family is shocked and greatly saddened by the events of March 21,” said Col. Kris Stillings, commanding officer of OCS. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the Marines we lost that night. I want to thank the base and all of the families that have provided OCS support, comfort, and genuine concern during this most difficult time. The OCS family is strong and, together, we will get through this.”
Supporting Col. Stillings and his staff, Security Battalion Marines and civilian law enforcement personnel were first on the scene, and critical to the successful security management of the tragedy.
“The men and women who are our first responders at Quantico may be directly impacted [by this tragedy] or be only one or two people removed from the center of this tragic event,” said Col. Barry Neulen, Security Battalion commanding officer. “We rely on Marine Corps leadership to deal with the numerous emotions and questions Marines have in coming to terms with events like this, but one thing for certain is that it will be a long process,” Neulen said. “This tragedy is compounded by the fact that Quantico is, and has always been, a close knit community centered on the common denominator of being a Marine Corps base.
“Many of my civilian police officers, firefighters, paramedics and dispatchers are former Marines or have worked closely with Marines for years. I also have a number of Marines from tenant organizations who are temporarily assigned to the Provost Marshal’s Office that augment our critical security mission. We all felt sorrow during this event, but Security Battalion Marines responded with the utmost professionalism in ensuring base personnel were safe and the incident contained,” Neulen said.
It is important for those feeling loss to remember that if they need someone to talk to, there are resources available, such as the Chaplain Corps, which upholds an outstanding level of confidentiality. What is spoken to a chaplain will go to the grave, according to Navy Capt. Milton Gianulis, Quantico’s command chaplain.
“When it comes to tragedies and dealing with grief, religion has been dealing with this since the creation of the world,” said Gianulis. “Chaplains are experts in religion and scripture, which are the vehicles that give us hope and guidance to deal with tragic death.”
For those who may need someone to talk to, or know someone who may need to talk about the shooting, Marine Corps Family Advocacy Program counseling services remain available. Contact the main number at 703-784-2570 or the 24/7 helpline at 703-350-1688.
Correspondent: paris.capers@usmc.mil