Shane Schmidt This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. GI Special 4K19: Sport Shooting Iraqis

   www.albasrah.net/en_articles_2 - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/2/2006   Last Visited: 12/6/2006

   Former Army Ranger Shane Schmidt, former Marine Charles L. Sheppard III and their shift leader were all working on an assignment for KBR when the shootings occurred near Baghdad on July 8, alleges the suit, filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
   
   Schmidt and Sheppard say they reported the shootings to Triple Canopy.
   ...
   Schmidt and Sheppard allege that Triple Canopy did not report the shootings to KBR or the government. They say that no one has ever contacted them about the shootings.
   
   In court papers, Triple Canopy has not denied that the incidents occurred.
   
   The company has tried to have the case dismissed on the grounds that no violation of Virginia law occurred and that Schmidt and Sheppard were "at-will" employees and could be fired for any reason.
   
   At a hearing last month, Fairfax Circuit Court Judge M. Langhorne Keith said the state's "at-will" legal doctrine has exceptions, including "when people allege that they reported a murder, two murders or maybe more than two murders, conducted by a fellow employee, and were fired for making that report."
   
   The lawsuit does not name the person accused of the shootings, a shift leader. Schmidt and Sheppard's attorney, Patricia A. Smith of Alexandria, declined to name the man.
   ...
   Smith said Schmidt and Sheppard were not available for interviews yesterday.
   ...
   Schmidt was a Marine from 1995 to 2003 and was one of the first Marines deployed to Afghanistan, Smith said.
   ...
   On July 8, according to their lawsuit, Schmidt and Sheppard were riding with their shift leader in a convoy to pick up a KBR employee at the Baghdad airport.
   
   As their vehicle approached the airport, their shift leader declared that he was "going to kill someone today," the lawsuit states. The man then stepped out of the vehicle and fired several shots from his M4 rifle into the windshield of a stopped truck.
   
   Schmidt and Sheppard were horrified, Smith said.
   ...
   At this point, Schmidt and Sheppard allege, their shift leader declared, "I've never shot anyone with my pistol before." The man then opened his door and fired seven or eight rounds into the windshield of a nearby taxi. Schmidt and Sheppard later heard that a cabdriver was found shot to death in the area, according to the suit.
   
   Schmidt and Sheppard initially hesitated to report the two seemingly unprovoked shootings, especially because their supervisor told them that they would be fired if they did, their lawsuit claims.
   ...
   Schmidt asserts that when he asked who was investigating the incidents, Triple Canopy told him no one was investigating.

2. 2. U.S. Contractor Fired On Iraqi Vehicles for Sport, Suit Alleges - washingtonpost.com

   www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/17/2006   Last Visited: 11/17/2006

   Former Army Ranger Shane Schmidt, former Marine Charles L. Sheppard III and their shift leader were all working on an assignment for KBR when the shootings occurred near Baghdad on July 8, alleges the suit, filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
   
   Schmidt and Sheppard say they reported the shootings to Triple Canopy.
   ...
   Schmidt and Sheppard allege that Triple Canopy did not report the shootings to KBR or the government. They say that no one has ever contacted them about the shootings.
   
   In court papers, Triple Canopy has not denied that the incidents occurred. The company has tried to have the case dismissed on the grounds that no violation of Virginia law occurred and that Schmidt and Sheppard were "at-will" employees and could be fired for any reason.
   
   At a hearing last month, Fairfax Circuit Court Judge M. Langhorne Keith said the state's "at-will" legal doctrine has exceptions, including "when people allege that they reported a murder, two murders or maybe more than two murders, conducted by a fellow employee, and were fired for making that report."
   
   The lawsuit does not name the person accused of the shootings, a shift leader. Schmidt and Sheppard's attorney, Patricia A. Smith of Alexandria, declined to name the man.
   ...
   Smith said Schmidt and Sheppard were not available for interviews yesterday.
   ...
   Schmidt was a Marine from 1995 to 2003 and was one of the first Marines deployed to Afghanistan, Smith said.