Spc. Ricky G. Elder, Fort Bragg soldier who shot commander, dies of self-inflicted wounds

(AP) FORT BRAGG, N.C. - A soldier who shot and killed his superior officer at Fort Bragg and then turned the gun on himself is also dead, military officials said Sunday.

The Army said in a news release that 27-year-old Spc. Ricky G. Elder of Hutchinson, Kan., died Friday after undergoing treatment at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C.

The statement from Fort Bragg said Elder, an infantryman, had been charged recently with larceny of a toolkit valued at $1,700 and had been awaiting court martial at the time of the shootings. His trial had not been scheduled.

Army: Fort Bragg shooter killed superior

Meanwhile, Elder also was also facing legal troubles in his home town at the time of his death. The Hutchinson News reported that Elder had been scheduled to appear before a Reno County district judge on Friday to be sentenced for aggravated battery. The charge stemmed from a 2010 incident in which a woman was punched in the face at a local sports bar, the newspaper reported.

Elder pleaded guilty to reckless aggravated battery in November 2011. His sentencing had been postponed once already because of his military service.

The military said Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale of Alvin, Texas, was fatally wounded Thursday during a safety briefing. A third soldier, 22-year-old Spc. Michael E. Latham of Vacaville, Calif., also was wounded and has been released from the hospital.

Elder enlisted in the Army in 2004. He deployed to Iraq from October 2006 to November 2007 and to Afghanistan from September 2010 to July 2011.

Fort Bragg is home to the 82nd Airborne Division, the 18th Airborne Corps and Special Operations Forces.