by Tim Troglen
Reporter
Hudson -- As a local couple watched live TV news coverage of the Nov. 5 shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, they were still trying to process the news they received moments before in a telephone call.
The caller told State Rep. Mike Moran and his wife, Barbara, that their niece, Sgt. Kim Munley, a Fort Hood police officer, had just been shot at the base.
"My wife's sister, Kim's mother-in-law [Jeannie Munley], called us at home in the afternoon," Moran recounted. "She said, 'turn on the TV. Kim's been shot. There was a shooting at Fort Hood and she's been shot.'"
It was later the couple, and the nation, learned that both Munley, who was shot by alleged shooter Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and her fellow officer Sgt. Mark Todd, who was not wounded, were credited with stopping the shooting spree which left 13 people dead and 30 wounded.
"We did not yet know that Kim had responded to a call," Moran said. "My first thought was, 'I wonder what Kim was doing in that building?'"
Moran said neither he or Barbara knew immediately "whether Kim was OK or not, so we were concerned."
"As we watched the TV coverage, we learned that a female police officer had shot the person who had initiated the shooting," Moran said. "We both thought, oh my gosh -- that's probably Kim." According to reports, Kim and Todd were involved in "a firefight with Hasan that lasted less than a minute." Hasan was shot four times. The Army psychiatrist was charged Nov. 12 in a military court with 13 counts of premeditated murder.
"As we watched the TV coverage, we learned that Kim had survived," Moran said. "We were very much relieved.
"We heard that Kim had been shot several times, and that a leg artery had been severed," he said. "She's had a couple surgeries since then [but] she seems to be recovering well."
When she arrived at Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen, Texas, the day of the shooting, she was rushed into surgery within minutes, said Dr. Scott McAninch.
He said she had "lost a lot of blood," especially from a gunshot wound to her left leg that had hit an artery. McAninch praised first responders for using a tourniquet.
"That pretty much saved her life," he said.
Kim, who is married to Barbara's nephew, Matt, is expected to make a full recovery, according to doctors. Moran said Matt was training at Fort Bragg in North Carolina at the time of the shooting.
And while Moran called Kim's actions "heroic," he was also thankful to those who helped her when she was wounded, along with the others who came together the day of the tragedy.
"We also are thankful for the heroic response of Specialist Francisco Delaserna, who saved Kim's life by quickly putting a tourniquet on her leg to prevent her from bleeding to death," he said. "There were many people who worked as a team to respond to the incident."
Moran said Kim met their nephew, Matt, who is serving in the Army, at Fort Hood. At the time, both were in the Army at Fort Hood. The two got married in 2006.
"Kim retired from the Army before Jayden was born in 2007," Moran said. "And she became a civilian police officer at Fort Hood. Matt was then deployed on his second tour to Iraq."
"My wife and I haven't met Kim in person, but talked with her via Webcam when we were visiting with her husband," Moran said.
Neither Moran or Barbara have talked with Kim since the shooting.
"But my wife has talked with Kim's husband, Matt, a couple times since," Moran said. "One time, Matt was in his house in Killeen, Texas, with the shades drawn so that the press would not bother him. We've mostly been getting information from my wife's sister. She has talked with Kim, and talks to Matt each day."
Moran said Kim is "serious about her work" as a police officer.
"She's a dedicated police officer, and she responded in a very focused and professional way," he said. "She's an Army veteran, and she also has police training -- that training served her well in responding to this incident."
Moran said Kim and Matt were scheduled to appear on "The Today Show" Nov. 12. And he said the "the Fort Hood community has been very supportive of Matt and Kim."
Moran said the couple also received "bear hugs from President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama."
But the happiness of their niece's survival is also mixed with sadness.
"My wife and I are saddened at the loss of life at Fort Hood, and our prayers go out to the families of those who were killed," he said. "We also hope that the other individuals injured have successful recoveries.
"[And] we are hopeful that Kim recovers fully so she can continue to do the work that she enjoys."