BIGLERVILLE, Pa. – Carmen Lopez was visiting with her next-door neighbor at 4 p.m. on March 12, when she heard on television that their had been what she initially heard was a “train” incident at Letterkenny Army Depot near Chambersburg.
Anything dealing with Letterkenny was big news to Carmen, since her son, Spec. Krystopher Lopez, had just started training there active duty to be a military police officer, Krystopher’s first step in realizing his dream of a career in law enforcement.
Fifteen minutes later, Carmen’s dream was shattered as three cars pulled up at her house. “Please, Lord, don’t let it be my son,” Carmen prayed. But as she hurried home, she saw a man in a brown hat, and she learned Krystopher had been injured in a “training incident.” She dropped to the ground.
As she and her husband pressed for answers, she added, the military officials told them nothing could be disclosed because the incident was under investigation. The Lopez family learned later that Krystopher was shot at 9:33 a.m., television reported the incident at 4 p.m. and they were notified at 4:15 p.m. They didn’t learn until later that their son had died at WellSpan Hospital in Chambersburg.
“We’d have been there in 20 minutes, and no matter the speeding ticket,” Carmen said.
They also did not learn until after their son’t burial that he was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest. That news came from Kevin Dolan, of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, Carmen said. They also learned that the wound came from a civilian contractor, hired by the Army for training.
And perhaps, she was told, it happened as a gun was being taken apart.
“Why wasn’t our son wearing a (bulletproof) vest?” Carmen asked.
She said Krystopher was a thoughtful young man, who joined the Army as a junior at Biglerville High School, then immediately began working after graduation, at first in refueling areas before an opening with the MPs developed.
“He always called us on the way home, asking if we needed anything, things like that,” she added
She said she will not stop seeking answers, justice and accountability for her son.
Letterkenny officials have remained quiet about circumstances surrounding the death of Spec. Lopez, saying the Criminal Division was investigating. The Army spokesman also said all base deaths would be investigated by that division, no matter the circumstances.
Efforts to seek information from the U.S. attorney and Franklin County coroner also have been unsuccessful. Use of the Freedom of Information Act and state Right to Know Law also have not been effective so far.
