2RHPZ
06-26-2004, 02:14 AM
... this is not kind a way how veteran like him must die. RIP :(
A Fort Bragg paratrooper who served in Afghanistan and Iraq was shot to death early Wednesday outside his mother's home in California, authorities said. No arrests were immediately made.
Spc. Daniel Maldonado, 20, was a sniper assigned to the scout platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The unit spent eight months in Afghanistan in 2003 and four months in Iraq in 2004.
Maj. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the 82nd, said Maldonado was on leave. He had been expected to report back to Fort Bragg on Thursday.
''He had been home with us for 10 days. These were very nice days for him. He was so happy to be home," said his mother, Rosa Maldonado.
Maldonado was drinking beer with his girlfriend and two other friends on the front lawn of the home in Victorville just after midnight when a man approached and an argument started, authorities said.
Moments later, a car pulled up and a passenger fired at least one shot that hit Maldonado in the chest, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
He ran and collapsed in the garage, where he was later declared dead. Detectives said they believed the argument was unrelated to gangs or drugs.
''What are the odds that a guy can go through all that much in military action only to be killed in a street fight on American soil?" sheriff's Sgt. Derek Pacifico asked.
Maldonado's mother said he joined the Army soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Maldonado was assigned to the battalion's scout platoon. Sgt. 1st Class John Robinson, the scout platoon sergeant, said Maldonado was an outstanding soldier.
Robinson and Maldonado slept next to each other while deployed to Iraq. Robinson said Maldonado kept spirits up by telling jokes. ''There is no way we are ever going to replace him," Robinson said.
A Fort Bragg paratrooper who served in Afghanistan and Iraq was shot to death early Wednesday outside his mother's home in California, authorities said. No arrests were immediately made.
Spc. Daniel Maldonado, 20, was a sniper assigned to the scout platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The unit spent eight months in Afghanistan in 2003 and four months in Iraq in 2004.
Maj. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the 82nd, said Maldonado was on leave. He had been expected to report back to Fort Bragg on Thursday.
''He had been home with us for 10 days. These were very nice days for him. He was so happy to be home," said his mother, Rosa Maldonado.
Maldonado was drinking beer with his girlfriend and two other friends on the front lawn of the home in Victorville just after midnight when a man approached and an argument started, authorities said.
Moments later, a car pulled up and a passenger fired at least one shot that hit Maldonado in the chest, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
He ran and collapsed in the garage, where he was later declared dead. Detectives said they believed the argument was unrelated to gangs or drugs.
''What are the odds that a guy can go through all that much in military action only to be killed in a street fight on American soil?" sheriff's Sgt. Derek Pacifico asked.
Maldonado's mother said he joined the Army soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Maldonado was assigned to the battalion's scout platoon. Sgt. 1st Class John Robinson, the scout platoon sergeant, said Maldonado was an outstanding soldier.
Robinson and Maldonado slept next to each other while deployed to Iraq. Robinson said Maldonado kept spirits up by telling jokes. ''There is no way we are ever going to replace him," Robinson said.