Grand Forks Air Force Base Col. Cameron Pringle speaks on deadly shooting

Two airmen died while in a dormitory at around 4:30 Monday morning

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. — A shooting early this morning at the Grand Forks Air Force Base left two airmen dead.

Col. Cameron Pringle says the two airmen died while in a dormitory at around 4:30 in the morning.

He would not go into details about what led up to the shooting.

The two were active-duty members of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing.

“Let me be clear: our installation is safe,” he says. “Our dormitories are safe. We shouldn’t worry about the condition of the dormitories. Our airmen are well-cared for, and they’re provided with good supervision.”

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is investigating the shooting, which officials say is an isolated incident.

“We deeply regret this loss, and certainly, our hearts and thoughts are with those families. We’re going to work through the next-of-kin notifications as quickly as we can, and we’ll care for our airmen and our families and our community, and we’ve got some work to do,” says Col. Pringle.

There have been violent deaths involving active duty military members at the base before.

According to Chief of Public Affairs Lea Greene, the most recent was in 2015, when a serviceman shot and killed someone, injured another and then killed himself.

Other violent incidents, including suicides and killings, occurred in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Colonel Pringle says mental health resources are available and being utilized.

“We will care for our airmen, their families and our community, and we will get the mission done because we are the Warriors of the North, and we will get through this together.”

Names of the airmen who died will be made available once their families are notified.

In a statement, Grand Forks Mayor Michael Brown said, “Ann and I, along with the entire Grand Forks region, are
devastated and heartbroken. The men and women of Grand Forks Air Force Base are not just friends and neighbors; they are family. And today we lost two members of our Grand Forks family. Tragic… Senseless… Devastating…. There are only so many words to describe. Our prayers are with the airmen and their families.”