“This is just totally out of character for the person that I knew,” said Keith Dyson, who served with John Schultz in the military.
KILLEEN, Texas — Many were shocked at hearing the news over the weekend that a man drove his car into the Killeen Mall, injuring multiple people before being shot during an exchange of gunfire with authorities.
What may be more surprising is learning that you have a connection to the person responsible and knew them very well.
That was the case for friends of John Schultz, who learned that he was the one behind the incident.
“This is just totally out of character for the person that I knew,” said Keith Dyson. “My thought process is, maybe this was some type of crazy, rash decision, but in no way do I feel that John would ever intentionally harm anyone, even though that’s exactly what happened here.”
“I did know him and when I say this is not, this is not John Schultz. I mean it, this is not John Schultz,” said Brian Jones.
To these men, Schultz’s actions simply don’t line up with the kind and gentle person they knew and served with.
“I’ve been consumed by this whole thing since I heard about the actual thing that happened,” Jones said.
“It is difficult for us in the unit to believe that John is capable of the actions that he took,” Dyson said. “Because when we served with him, there was nothing he ever did that would indicate that this would at some point be something that would occur in his life.”
The events on Saturday also serving as a reminder that it’s always a good time to call and check on those that are close to you.
“I wish I had called him the moment I thought about I need to call him, cause I would have been in front of all this,” Jones said.
However, it also doesn’t change the reality for several families who will be spending their days in a hospital heartbroken.
“My condolences to the families and the community of Killeen Fort Hood, everybody who was affected by this,” Dyson reflected. “This is truly a sad and tragic, tragic event.”
Schultz reportedly served in the Task Force 118 & 4/17th Cav from 1990 to 1995. He was station at Fort Bragg, now called Fort Liberty. 6 News was told he spent a lot of time in the Persian Gulf supporting the Navy.