The Herald-Zeitung

Retired Maj. Kevin Cregier, who teaches aerospace science and runs the Air Force ROTC at Canyon High School, said he knew of no one from the area currently stationed in Fort Hood.

A group of more than 200 National Guard soldiers from New Braunfels (4th Battalion 133rd Field Artillery Headquarters Battery of New Braunfels) recently deployed is training at Fort Bliss in west Texas.

“The Brigade the (local National Guard soldiers) are deploying with is headquartered at Fort Hood, but they are in Fort Bliss currently,” Cregier said.

Master Sgt. Thomas Allen with the National Guard also said he knew of no one located at the base currently from the New Braunfels area.

Master Sgt. Juan Medrano, the ROTC instructor at New Braunfels High School, said no former students he knew are currently stationed at Fort Hood.

“I have not heard of anyone,” said state representative Doug Miller, R-New Braunfels.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragic event.”

“We are certainly monitoring the situation,” said Mayor Bruce Boyer.

“It’s a tragedy, especially when coming back from Afghanistan or for someone about to be deployed. You think the safest place for our soldiers is to be on base and it turns out not to be true,” he said.

The South Texas Blood and Tissue Center in New Braunfels will accept blood donations to go toward victims of the Fort Hood shooting. They are not yet credited as an official donation spot, according to Priscilla Valadez with the center, but are working out the details to participate in donation efforts.

“If you have the first name, last name, city and state of someone there you want to donate to, it can be credited as a replacement (toward someone specific at the base),” she said.

The center is located at 651 N. Business 35 in the Marketplace Shopping Center, and can be contacted by calling (830) 625-5401.

If you need to check on the status of family or friends who may have been involved in the Fort Hood Shooting, call the Killeen branch of the Red Cross at (254) 200-4400, or the Fort Hood Public Affairs office at (254) 291-2591.