TRENTON, N.J. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- A New Jersey soldier was among those wounded in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood.
Alan Carroll, a 20-year-old Bridgewater resident, was shot four times and underwent surgery Thursday night, according to officials with the North Branch Fire Company in Branchburg. Carroll and his stepfather have been members of the volunteer department for several years.
Photo Gallery: Fort Hood Shooting
David Hickson, the fire company's deputy chief, told The Star-Ledger of Newark that he spoke with Carroll on Thursday and was told he was shot four times -- once in the chest, once in each arm and once in the thigh.
Hickson said the injured soldier was alert and in high spirits and is expected to recover from his wounds, adding that the military had flown Carroll's parents to Texas and that they were with him in the hospital.
``He said it just happened so quick,'' Hickson said. ``He got hit up pretty good and was on the ground for quite a while when this was all going on. He said was down for about an hour-and-a-half before they were able to get to him.''
North Branch Fire Chief Michael Russoniello said Carroll was days away from being deployed on his first tour to Afghanistan.
``He's a really good kid,'' Russoniello told the newspaper. ``His whole intent was to go into the service the entire time I knew him.''
Military officials have not disclosed the shooting victims' names, and efforts to contact Carroll's relatives were unsuccessful Thursday.
Friends and colleagues say Carroll is an ambitious person with a passion for helping others. An avid snowboarder and BMX biker, he also was on the wrestling team at Bridgewater-Raritan High, where he graduated from in 2007.
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