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November 8th, 2009, 03:01 PM
'Tough cookie' Sgt. Kimberly Munley took down Fort Hood gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan
BY Rich Schapiro (http://www.nydailynews.com/authors/Rich%20Schapiro)
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Originally Published:Friday, November 6th 2009, 9:16 AM
Updated: Saturday, November 7th 2009, 2:06 AM
http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/11/07/alg_munley_gun.jpg Police Sgt. Kim Munley is being hailed as a hero for taking down suspected Fort Hood gunman,
http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/11/07/amd_munley_daughters.jpg Munley with her two daughters.
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<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START --> Tiny but tenacious, Sgt. Kimberly Munley (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Kimberly+Munley) was a "tough cookie" nicknamed Mighty Mouse long before her heroic takedown of the Fort Hood (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Fort+Hood) shooter.
"She's the happiest, sweetest, most fun-loving girl you'd ever want to be friends with - and never want to cross," close friend Drew Peterson (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Drew+Peterson) said Friday.
Munley, a 34-year-old mom of two, proved her mettle Thursday when Maj. Nidal Hasan (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Nidal+Hasan) launched his bloody rampage at the Army base.
Just three minutes after Hasan shot up his fellow soldiers, Munley tracked him down outside a pre-deployment facility and unloaded on him at close range.
"She fired on him twice and drew the attention toward her. He immediately spun around and charged her," said Chuck Medley, director of emergency services at Fort Hood.
"She fired a couple more rounds and fell back, continuing to fire."
Munley was hit in both legs and her wrist during the gun battle but stayed on her feet and kept firing at the charging gunman.
"She struck him a couple times in the upper torso and he went down," Medley said.
"When she rounded that corner, she made a split-second decision to put her life at risk. If she had not responded the way she had, we would have had an extremely high number of dead and injured."
Munley, a civilian cop employed by the Army, was recovering at the hospital Friday and was unavailable for comment, but she was doing well enough to take several calls from friends.
"She said one of the bullets hit an artery and she lost a lot of blood, but she sounded in good spirits," said country music singer Dierks Bentley (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Dierks+Bentley), who met Munley at a July 4 event and called her Friday.
"She was laughing and joking."
To her friends, relatives and former colleagues in North Carolina (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/North+Carolina), Munley's bravery was par for the course.
Wrightsville Beach (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Wrightsville+Beach) Police Investigator Shaun Appler told the Daily News how the 120-pound cop saved him from an assailant who jumped him.
Appler was conducting a DWI traffic stop in January 2001 when he got into a heated argument with a driver and called for backup.
When Munley arrived, Appler had been tackled to the ground and was struggling to hold onto his gun.
"She actually launched on the back of this guy and together we were able to subdue him," Appler said.
'Mighty Mouse'
"Without her help, who knows how it would have turned out? From that point on, I've called her Mighty Mouse. She was never afraid to get in the middle of things."
Peterson, 27, said he was far from surprised to hear Munley may have prevented many more deaths at Fort Hood.
"She was born and bred to be a police officer. If you were ever to be in a fight, she'd be the first person to stand up next to you and back you up," he said.
"She's a tough cookie."
A native of Carolina Beach whose father served as mayor, Munley became a cop in nearby Wrightsville Beach in 2000 and quickly forged a reputation as a cop who never shied from a challenge.
"She's pretty much fearless," Chief John Carey (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/John+Carey) said. "She is a small-framed person, but she was always willing to jump in and help other officers."
Munley also distinguished herself with her firearm skills.
"She's a very good shot," Carey said.
After serving with the Wrightsville Beach force and at a local hospital, she moved to Texas (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Texas) and enlisted in the Army in 2005.
Munley spent two years as a chemical operations specialist before becoming a civilian cop assigned to Fort Hood.
Her stepmother, Wanda Barbour (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Wanda+Barbour), said her family has become accustomed to her acts of courage.
"When I heard a female officer was involved, I knew in my heart it was her," Barbour said. "I wasn't surprised at all that she was right there. It's just the way she is."
rschapiro@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_police_sgt_kimberly_munley_credited_with_ending _fort_hood_gunman_maj_nidal_malik.html#ixzz0WJ9Ig2 Ei
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_police_sgt_kimberly_munley_credited_with_ending _fort_hood_gunman_maj_nidal_malik.html
http://blogs.wsj.com/dispatch/2009/11/06/police-sgt-kimberly-munley-hailed-as-hero-after-fort-hood-shooting/
BY Rich Schapiro (http://www.nydailynews.com/authors/Rich%20Schapiro)
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Originally Published:Friday, November 6th 2009, 9:16 AM
Updated: Saturday, November 7th 2009, 2:06 AM
http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/11/07/alg_munley_gun.jpg Police Sgt. Kim Munley is being hailed as a hero for taking down suspected Fort Hood gunman,
http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/11/07/amd_munley_daughters.jpg Munley with her two daughters.
Related News
Articles
Sprawling Fort Hood has always been a long source of pride for U.S. (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_sprawling_fort_hood_has_always_been_a_long_sour ce_of_pride.html)
Fabled Fort Hood Army units often in heat of battle - in film or real life (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_fabled_fort_hood_army_units_often_in_heat_of_ba ttle__in_film_or_real_life.html)
We're appalled too by Fort Hood killer, so don't target us: Muslim groups (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_were_appalled_too_by_fort_hood_killer__so_dont_ target_us_muslim_groups.html)
Fort Hood killer opposed wars overseas, but what made him snap? (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_why_did_fort_hood_killer_snap.html)
Suspect in Fort Hood shooting shouted 'Allahu Akbar' before attack (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_susptected_gunman_in_fort_hood_shooting_maj_nid al_malik_hasan_shouted_allah_akba.html)
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START --> Tiny but tenacious, Sgt. Kimberly Munley (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Kimberly+Munley) was a "tough cookie" nicknamed Mighty Mouse long before her heroic takedown of the Fort Hood (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Fort+Hood) shooter.
"She's the happiest, sweetest, most fun-loving girl you'd ever want to be friends with - and never want to cross," close friend Drew Peterson (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Drew+Peterson) said Friday.
Munley, a 34-year-old mom of two, proved her mettle Thursday when Maj. Nidal Hasan (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Nidal+Hasan) launched his bloody rampage at the Army base.
Just three minutes after Hasan shot up his fellow soldiers, Munley tracked him down outside a pre-deployment facility and unloaded on him at close range.
"She fired on him twice and drew the attention toward her. He immediately spun around and charged her," said Chuck Medley, director of emergency services at Fort Hood.
"She fired a couple more rounds and fell back, continuing to fire."
Munley was hit in both legs and her wrist during the gun battle but stayed on her feet and kept firing at the charging gunman.
"She struck him a couple times in the upper torso and he went down," Medley said.
"When she rounded that corner, she made a split-second decision to put her life at risk. If she had not responded the way she had, we would have had an extremely high number of dead and injured."
Munley, a civilian cop employed by the Army, was recovering at the hospital Friday and was unavailable for comment, but she was doing well enough to take several calls from friends.
"She said one of the bullets hit an artery and she lost a lot of blood, but she sounded in good spirits," said country music singer Dierks Bentley (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Dierks+Bentley), who met Munley at a July 4 event and called her Friday.
"She was laughing and joking."
To her friends, relatives and former colleagues in North Carolina (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/North+Carolina), Munley's bravery was par for the course.
Wrightsville Beach (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Wrightsville+Beach) Police Investigator Shaun Appler told the Daily News how the 120-pound cop saved him from an assailant who jumped him.
Appler was conducting a DWI traffic stop in January 2001 when he got into a heated argument with a driver and called for backup.
When Munley arrived, Appler had been tackled to the ground and was struggling to hold onto his gun.
"She actually launched on the back of this guy and together we were able to subdue him," Appler said.
'Mighty Mouse'
"Without her help, who knows how it would have turned out? From that point on, I've called her Mighty Mouse. She was never afraid to get in the middle of things."
Peterson, 27, said he was far from surprised to hear Munley may have prevented many more deaths at Fort Hood.
"She was born and bred to be a police officer. If you were ever to be in a fight, she'd be the first person to stand up next to you and back you up," he said.
"She's a tough cookie."
A native of Carolina Beach whose father served as mayor, Munley became a cop in nearby Wrightsville Beach in 2000 and quickly forged a reputation as a cop who never shied from a challenge.
"She's pretty much fearless," Chief John Carey (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/John+Carey) said. "She is a small-framed person, but she was always willing to jump in and help other officers."
Munley also distinguished herself with her firearm skills.
"She's a very good shot," Carey said.
After serving with the Wrightsville Beach force and at a local hospital, she moved to Texas (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Texas) and enlisted in the Army in 2005.
Munley spent two years as a chemical operations specialist before becoming a civilian cop assigned to Fort Hood.
Her stepmother, Wanda Barbour (http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Wanda+Barbour), said her family has become accustomed to her acts of courage.
"When I heard a female officer was involved, I knew in my heart it was her," Barbour said. "I wasn't surprised at all that she was right there. It's just the way she is."
rschapiro@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_police_sgt_kimberly_munley_credited_with_ending _fort_hood_gunman_maj_nidal_malik.html#ixzz0WJ9Ig2 Ei
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/06/2009-11-06_police_sgt_kimberly_munley_credited_with_ending _fort_hood_gunman_maj_nidal_malik.html
http://blogs.wsj.com/dispatch/2009/11/06/police-sgt-kimberly-munley-hailed-as-hero-after-fort-hood-shooting/