CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — A Marine and Northeast Ohio high school graduate was killed in a homicide at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, and a second Marine was held on suspicion of being involved, the base said.
Austin Schwenk, 19, died after he was shot late Wednesday in what the Marines are calling an “isolated incident between two Marines,” according to Stripes.com.
According to a statement from Riverside Local Schools, Schwenk was a 2022 graduate of Riverside High School.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the tragic loss of Lance Cpl. Austin Schwenk. Austin was a 2022 Riverside High School graduate who was serving in the military. He was a tremendous young man and will be greatly missed by so many. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Austin’s family and friends,” a statement from the district says.
On the night of the shooting, base authorities took the Marine suspect into custody about 10:15 p.m. Wednesday after an incident that occurred in a barracks room on the North Carolina base earlier in the evening, a statement from the base said.
The statement called the death a homicide and described the other Marine as a suspect but didn’t provide any other details, including how the Marine died.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service will investigate the death, according to a statement released by the base on Thursday afternoon.
Camp Lejeune is home to the II Marine Expeditionary Force. Its beaches and ranges provide training in amphibious assaults and urban warfare and it is used both for U.S. Marine training and for exercises involving other military forces from around the world.
The death came two days before the base was scheduled to conduct annual training known as Exercise Urgent Response which “provides an opportunity for tenant commands to develop and exercise emergency security procedures,” according to a press release.
In 2021, a Marine was shot and wounded in a barracks at the base. Authorities later determined that the shooting was accidental.