A U.S. Army drill sergeant on holiday leave was found fatally shot in San Antonio, Texas, military officials said Saturday.
Jessica Mitchell, 30, “was the victim of multiple gunshot wounds,” said Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, in a statement.
Mitchell was found in a vehicle by firefighters responding to a report of a vehicle collision, NBC affiliate WOAI in San Antonio reported.
On New Year’s Day around 2:30 a.m., first responders went to what they thought was a car crash on the North Side. Instead, a team of firefighters discovered a shooting victim. The family of U.S. Army Drill Sgt. Jessica Mitchell says it was their sweet young soldier shot & killed. pic.twitter.com/W8y9fpqdja
Morgan Burrell (@Morgan_Burrell) January 2, 2021
Mitchell, a dental specialist, was taken to University Hospital San Antonio, where she was pronounced dead, the base said.
The Armys Criminal Investigation Division and the San Antonio Police Department were investigating, military officials said.
Mitchell had been assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence since August 2019 and before that worked at a joint base dental clinic, they said.
Her sister Ashley Mitchell told WOAI that Jessica had made at least one social media post about “ringing in the new year” hours before her body was discovered.
“Why would anybody want to do this?” Ashley Mitchell said. “Why do people do such heinous acts of crime for no reason?”
Maj. Gen. Dennis LeMaster, commanding general at the Medical Center of Excellence, released a statement saying officials were “devastated” by her death.
The fatal shooting comes amid violence and missing persons investigations connected to Fort Hood, a Texas Army installation about 147 miles from San Antonio.
Last year, the dismembered body of missing Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén was found near Fort Hood. Spc. Aaron Robinson, 20, was sought in connection with her disappearance, but he shot and killed himself.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

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