Army drill sergeant shot multiple times in her car on Texas highway

SAN ANTONIO (WOAI) -- San Antonio Police and the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Division are investigating after an Army drill sergeant was shot multiple times in her car on Interstate 10 on New Year's Day and later died.

During the early morning hours of New Year's Day, first-responders went to what they thought was a car crash along I-10 near West Avenue, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Firefighters discovered a shooting victim.

U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Jessica Mitchell, 30, was found shot several times in the vehicle, according to the medical examiner's office.

The Army Times reports Mitchell was found by police at about 2 a.m. in a white Dodge Challenger with multiple gunshots to the driver's side door and window.

The Austin American-Statesman reports Mitchell, assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, was pronounced dead at University Hospital San Antonio about 3 a.m. Friday. Mitchell, 30, a dental specialist, was shot multiple times, the medical examiner's office said.

ABC News reports another apparently unrelated death of a female Army soldier in Texas is also under investigation. Pfc. Asia M. Graham, 19, was found dead in her military barracks at Fort Bliss in El Paso on New Year's Eve. Fort Bliss was Graham's first duty station after graduating from basic training and advanced individual training, KVIA-TV reports.

The back-to-back deaths come just four months after two congressional committees launched probes into the high number of deaths at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, in 2020, highlighted by the disappearances of three soldiers who were later found dead, including Spc. Vanessa Guillen. No arrests have been made and police are investigating if Mitchell was targeted.

KABB-TV reports Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston officials reported on Monday, Jan. 4, that partial skeletal human remains found last month have been identified as Juan Santiago, who was identified through a dental match. Base officials said Santiago has no known affiliation with the military. The skeletal remains were found near Salado Creek in the northeast part of the installation. Family members said Santiago had been missing since June 2020, shortly after relocating to San Antonio from Massachusetts.

KFOX-TV reports Private Richard Halliday was stationed at Ft. Bliss and has been missing since July 23, 2020. Ft. Bliss originally claimed that Private Richard Halliday was absent without official leave (AWOL) but recently said he was missing.