AWOL soldier shot dead after Dad says Army failed him

Dad: GI shot dead seemed happy, Army failed him
By Matthew D. LaPlante

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated Aug 28, 2010 11:12PM
There was something different about Brandon Barrett when he came home from Army basic training in early 2007.

Bill Barrett had always been proud of his son. But now, the Marine Corps veteran noticed, “Brandon held himself higher. Joining the Army was a life-changing experience for him. It was a good change.”

But Bill Barrett now fears that his son’s experiences at war brought on another change — something deeper, something darker.

Something deadly.

The younger Barrett, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, was wearing full battle gear and carrying a loaded rifle when a police officer confronted him in downtown Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon. A police spokeswoman said Barrett opened fire, striking the officer in the leg. The officer returned fire, killing the 28-year-old soldier, whose bloodied body fell in a patch of grass behind the Grand America Hotel, near one of the city’s busiest intersections.

According to military records, Brandon Barrett served in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Force from July 2009 to June 2010, a member of the Army’s 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment.
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GI shot dead seemed happy Army failed him