Victim had fought in Iraq twice
Returned early for medical reasons, post says
A Fort Carson soldier whose bullet-riddled body was found on a Colorado Springs sidewalk early Saturday was a decorated two-time Iraq war veteran, the Army said Tuesday.
Spc. Kevin R. Shields, who died on his 24th birthday, was found dead early Saturday by a newspaper carrier in the 200 block of South 16th Street. Police say Shields, a native of Roscoe, Ill., had been shot several times.
Officers say they still don’t know who shot Shields or why.
Colorado Springs police spokesman Lt. Skip Arms said officers are getting tips on how Shields spent his final hours but still need help tracking down who killed him. He said police are cooperating with the Army in a two-pronged investigation of the death.
“They have been working hand-in-hand,” Arms said.
Shields had survived more than 18 months of some of the toughest combat in Iraq. A member of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division, he had fought in Ramadi for a year, returning to Fort Carson in September 2005. Shields went to Baghdad with the brigade in October 2006.
Shield’s unit, the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, has been patrolling east Baghdad neighborhoods and is credited with helping significantly reduce enemy attacks there during the past 14 months. The battalion is due home in January.
Army records show Shields came home from Iraq in May, eight months before the rest of his unit is due to return. A Fort Carson spokeswoman said Tuesday that Shields had come home for medical reasons.
Shields, a four-year veteran infantryman, had earned the Army’s Good Conduct Medal and the Combat Infantry Badge.
Arms said neighbors told police they heard gunshots about 2:30 a.m., about two hours before the body was discovered.
Anyone with information on Shields’ activities Friday evening or Saturday morning is asked to call detective Joe Matiatos at 444-7559 or detective Luke Skifstad at 444-7536.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0240 or tom.roeder@gazette.com
