Soldier shot himself to avoid deployment, cops say

A Fort Carson soldier due to be deployed to Afghanistan allegedly shot himself in the shoulder to avoid deployment Wednesday night, Colorado Springs police say.

Police say Sgt. Robert Murchison, 26, was on emergency leave from Afghanistan and due to re-deploy in the next couple of days when he and his girlfriend Chasaity Peoples, 28, drove to a spot near Penrose-St. Francis Medical Center and he shot himself.

The pair told officers they had pulled over the car to help a stranded motorist and that Murchison was shot by that person. They gave officers a description of the supposed motorist and his car. However, because of the location where they were parked and their demeanor, officers were suspicious of their story, said Sgt. Jim Meyers, of Colorado Springs police. They were questioned intensively, he said.

“Finally they came clean after about six stories,” he said. “Well, she did, he kind of did.”

Meyers said Murchison will probably spend the next couple of days in the intensive care unit but his injuries are not life threatening. They both will face possible charges of false reporting to authorities.

“It’s a little bit sad but kind of funny what people will do to get out of commitments,” Meyers said.

Fort Carson said Murchison served with the 1st Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan, part of the 4th Brigade Combat team of the 4th Infantry Division. Other details on his military service were not released.

The post has two units working in Afghanistan – the 4^th Brigade Combat Team of the 4^th Infantry Division and the 4^th Engineer Battalion. The two units have had a month filled with tragedy in October.

The 4^th Brigade has lost 10 soldiers this month, including eight killed in a single battle Oct. 3. The 4^th Engineers have lost seven soldiers in October. The 17 deaths made October the deadliest month for Fort Carson troops since the war began in 2001.

The violence in Afghanistan has been spiking since summer as Taliban and militia fighters work to reassert control of their nation’s rural, roadless high country and a U.S. offensive against insurgents in Kandahar has seen the enemy turn increasingly toward roadside bombs as their weapon of choice.

It’s not unheard of for a Fort Carson soldier to shoot himself as a way out of war.

Infantry soldier Josh Butler had fellow soldier Jose Barco shoot him in the calf in 2006 so he could avoid going back to Iraq for a second tour, according to soldiers who witnessed the event. Barco recently was convicted of attempted murder in an unrelated case.

Gazette reporters Tom Roeder and Dave Philipps contributed to this report.