Shooting Incident During Altercation at Camp Lejeune Leads to Marine Being Apprehended

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Main gate to Camp Lejeune Marine Base
Signage stands on the main gate to Camp Lejeune Marine Base outside Jacksonville, N.C., April 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)

A Marine was arrested in connection to a shooting at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, over the weekend. No one was injured or killed, an official told Military.com on Saturday, the day of the shooting.

The shooting resulted from what officials described as an altercation. It occurred near the French Creek Barracks part of the base in the early afternoon, according to a spokesperson for II Marine Expeditionary Force, or II MEF, which is located on Lejeune.

This latest incident follows another shooting that occurred earlier this year in which a Marine was taken into custody in connection with a shooting death of a civilian on post. And in October 2023, a Marine died after being shot. Another Marine was arrested in connection to that shooting.

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The Marine Corps confirmed to Military.com that the incident Saturday is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS. A spokesperson said that the weapon involved in the altercation was confiscated the day the shooting occurred and a suspect was taken into custody.

"He's been apprehended," Lt. Col. Cassandra Stanton, a spokesperson for II MEF, told Military.com on Saturday, citing military police. "No one was injured. There [are] no casualties, and there's no longer any threat."

The Marine Corps would not release the name of the suspect in order to protect the integrity of the investigation, Capt. Emma Thompson, a spokesperson for II MEF, told Military.com on Monday. It is unclear what specifically led to the altercation that resulted in shots being fired.

The Marine killed in October was Lance Cpl. Austin B. Schwenk, 19, who was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, at Camp Lejeune.

On Saturday evening, II MEF posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, to confirm the incident.

"On 23 March, there was an altercation on base in which shots were fired," II MEF said on the social media platform. "There are no reported injuries, and the suspect has been apprehended. There are no public safety concerns at this time."

Camp Lejeune is located in Onslow County, North Carolina, and covers roughly 156,000 acres. The surrounding area is home to nearly 150,000 people, including veterans, dependents, retirees and civilians.

It is also home to several units, including II MEF, one of the Corps' three expeditionary forces. Marines and sailors who are part of II MEF recently returned from Nordic Response 2024 after taking part in what was one of the largest NATO exercises in decades.

Related: Some Marines Evacuated over Cockroach Infestation at Camp Lejeune Barracks Facility

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