Bulletin E-Edition:
Former local man shot at Fort Hood still improving
By Lauren Dake / The Bulletin
Published: November 20. 2009 4:00AM PSTShawn
Manning
advertisement:
One of the first victims of the Fort Hood shootings earlier this month, a former Redmond resident, continues to improve, and his family is hoping he will make a full recovery in the next couple of months.
Shawn Manning celebrated his 34th birthday this week, a day with special meaning since Manning survived being shot six times when a gunman opened fire at Fort Hood on Nov. 5 and killed 13 people.
Manning was shot once in the chest, three times in the abdomen, once in the leg and once in the foot, according to a statement released by his family.
All but one of the bullets have been removed.
“He was in good spirits and is thankful to be here to celebrate with us (on his birthday),” Kym Lott, Manning’s sister, wrote in a statement.
“We enjoyed a day with him and even had some laughs.”
All of the shots missed Manning’s major organs. He suffered a collapsed lung and had several tubes from his chest removed Monday.
Manning is a staff sergeant in the Combat Stress Unit in the 467th Medical Detachment, an Army Reserve unit based out of Madison, Wis.
Manning has been recovering at Seton Medical Center in Round Rock, Texas, for the last couple of weeks. On Saturday, he was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, according to information from his family.
He iis waiting to be transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis in Washington state in the near future.
“We anticipate him to remain hospitalized at Madigan but are not sure how long,” the statement by his family reads. “Overall his physical condition is good and doctors hope he will make a full recovery within three months. He is very anxious to be home at Madigan among friends and co-workers.”
The family declined to be interviewed.
“I do not anticipate that Shawn will make any public statement in the near future regarding his ‘story’ and accounts of the events at Fort Hood,” the statement reads. “He is still absorbing and trying to work through this tragedy. Tuesday, Shawn was able to visit with a fellow soldier that was also injured at Fort Hood, this was very special to him.”
Manning was preparing for a third deployment, this time to Afghanistan. He joined the Army in 2000, serving in Iraq in 2003 and 2006.
He was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, and attended school in that city and in Jerome, Idaho. He also attended Idaho State University, majoring in psychology.
As a teenager, Manning also lived in Redmond and appears in Redmond High School yearbooks as a freshman and sophomore in 1991 and 1992. His father and stepmother, Larry and Sonya Manning, still live in Redmond, while his mother, Shari Taylor, is a resident of Idaho.
Manning currently lives in Lacey, Wash., with his wife, Autumn.
Donations can be made in Shawn Manning’s name at any Wells Fargo Bank.
ARTICLE ACCESS: This article is among those available to all readers. Many more articles are available only to E-Edition members. Sign up today!
blog comments powered by Disqus
