During the Walmart shooting in El Paso, Texas last year that took 22 lives, Pvt. 1st Class Glendon Oakley carried children to safety. Last week, he was found dead in his quarters on Fort Bliss.
First reported by Task & Purpose, Fort Bliss public affairs personnel have confirmed that Oakley was found dead in his Fort Bliss quarters on Wednesday. They declined to provide any further information as an investigation is ongoing — but they did say foul play was not suspected.
This Fort Bliss soldier carried children to safety during the El Paso shooting
"You could hear all of the chaos going around, and that’s when I did what I was trained to do," Oakley said of his actions during the shooting. “I quickly reacted and I thought to myself if my child were there how I would want someone else to react. I just took action and tried to get as many kids as possible.""I understand that what I did was heroic, but I did that because that’s what I was trained to do and what the military has taught me to do," Oakley added. “I’m thankful to be in the military and for what they’ve taught me."
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In the months after the incident in El Paso, the legitimacy of Oakley's actions were questioned.
Local law enforcement said they had been unable to confirm certain allegations in Oakley's account and aspects of his story did not align with what actually transpired that day. A month after the incident, Oakley was arrested for going AWOL.
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Follow Elizabeth Howe on Twitter @ECBHowe.
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