An Army drill sergeant was pronounced dead in San Antonio, Texas, on New Year’s Day after police found her shot multiple times in her car along a highway.
Sgt. Jessica Mitchell, 30, was found at about 2 a.m. in a white Dodge Challenger with multiple gunshots to the driver’s side door and window along Interstate 10, according to police and military officials. She was pronounced dead roughly an hour later.
At the time of her death, Mitchell was assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.
When police officers found Mitchell, they were unable to locate a pulse and transported her by EMS to University Hospital San Antonio where she was pronounced dead by hospital staff, according to police.
Mitchell was on holiday leave at the time of the fatal shooting. San Antonio police and Army CID agents are investigating her death.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of Drill Sergeant Jessica Mitchell,” said Medical Center of Excellence commander Maj. Gen. Dennis LeMaster. “Our sincere condolences go out to her family and friends. We are focused on supporting Drill Sergeant Mitchell’s family as well as her soldiers during this extremely difficult time.”
Mitchell, a dental specialist by training, had been assigned to the Medical Center of Excellence since August 2019. Before that, she had served at a dental clinic also located at Joint Base San Antonio.
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.
