A U.S. Marine was fatally wounded at a military base in North Carolina on Tuesday after a colleague shot him with his M4 rifle, the Associated Press reported.
The incident occurred at 5:30 p.m. at the main gate of the Camp Lejeune base. The Marine was standing guard at the main gate of a North Carolina base when he fired a single shot to the chest of his colleague inside a guard shack, Camp Lejeune spokesman Nat Fahy said.
It hasn't been confirmed whether the shooting was intentional, Reuters reported.
Even though the victim was helped by law enforcement and emergency personnel, he was later pronounced dead at a base hospital, Fahy said.
After being taken into custody, the unidentified male shooter was waiting to be questioned by Naval Criminal Investigative Services, Fahy said Tuesday night.
Until the victim's family and relatives are notified, his identity will not be released, Fahy said.
With the shack being about 15 feet by 15 feet that sits under a canopy, it hasn't been verified whether other Marines were present inside the shack when the shooting took place. No other injuries were reported.
Fahy said the main gate remained open after the shooting.
The shooting area was immediately isolated after the shooting, authorities said. But after the situation was determined to be secure, traffic was allowed to pass on and off the base again.
"At no time was the base ever on lockdown," Fahy said.
"The shooting came less than a week after a shooting rampage by a soldier at Fort Hood in Texas killed three and wounded 16 others," Reuters reported.
However, the difference between the two situations was clarified by Fahy.
"We understand that people are at a state of heightened sensitivity, given what happened over at Fort Hood," Fahy said. "It's important that we convey that this is not a Fort Hood-like incident. It was an isolated incident that's no longer active."
