FORT HOOD, TX—The massacre that left 13 dead and dozens wounded at the Fort Hood Army Post was almost identical to a live combat scene, according to the military photographer still haunted by the images he caught on tape.
“I don’t really want to think about it at all,” said Elliot Valdez, an Army Specialist accustomed to documenting combat scenes in Iraq. “It’s just too disturbing to think about this happening here.”
Valdez was shooting a graduation ceremony at Fort Hood on Thursday when gunfire erupted in the building next door.
"A soldier who had been shot in the back came into the theater, and then I picked up my camera and headed to where the shots were coming from," Valdez said.
Valdez wanted to document soldiers helping soldiers during a time of enormous need. But he was immediately reminded of his deployments overseas.
"For a flash, it reminded me of Iraq because of the chaos and the noise.”
Valdez has tried to put the disturbing images out of his head, but believes his hardship is nothing compared to what the victim’s families have had to endure.
“My heart goes out to the families of the soldiers. That’s the hard part.”
