A soldier assigned to Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is suspected of killing his pregnant wife and then himself Sunday evening, according to local police.
Staff Sgt. Keith Lewis, 31, was found dead from what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound just after 7 p.m. at his home in the 900 block of Willow Street in Fayetteville.
Lewis’ pregnant 34-year-old wife, Sarah Lewis, was taken to a hospital after sustaining gunshot injuries, but she and her unborn child later died.
Fayetteville police officer Lt. Lori Holloway confirmed over the telephone that Keith Lewis was the suspected perpetrator of the shootings, which occurred after a domestic altercation.
The couple’s 3-year-old daughter was on scene at the time of the incident but she was not injured, police said in a statement. That daughter is now in the care of local family members.
Those family members said Sarah Lewis was due to have her baby on Christmas, according to local media.
“She had a smile that would light up the room, I can’t explain it. She was vivacious and fun and lighthearted and easygoing and really head and heart to be of service,” Tammy De Mirza, Sarah Lewis’ aunt, told WRAL.
The Fayetteville Observer reported that police responded in 2016 to a domestic dispute involving the couple, but no charges were filed after the incident.
A statement from 1st Special Forces Command identified Keith Lewis as a combat medic assigned to the command’s 98th Civil Affairs Battalion, 95th Civil Affairs Brigade.
“We are profoundly saddened at the tragic passing of Staff Sgt. and Mrs. Lewis. Our soldiers and families are the bedrock of our unit and any loss deeply affects our formations,” stated Lt. Col. Mark Finnegan, 98th Civil Affairs battalion commander. “We are working to provide the utmost support to the family and our team.”
Keith Lewis, who is from Sarasota, Florida, enlisted in September 2007 and attended infantry one station unit training at Fort Benning, Georgia, followed by Airborne School at that same post.
He deployed once with 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, to Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010, before retraining to be a medic in 2012.
Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.
