OFF THE WIRE
http://www.patriotledger.com/features/x2084257936/Randolph-native-and-Vietnam-veteran-killed-outside-gate-at-Florida-Air-Force-base Randolph native and Vietnam veteran killed outside gate at Florida Air Force base Photos
Photo from WCVB-TV Ronald Bullock in an undated family photo. Photo from Tampa Police Department Ronald J. Bullock More Photos
The Patriot Ledger Posted May 21, 2010 @ 07:05 AM A Vietnam War veteran who grew up in Randolph was shot and killed at the gate of a Tampa Air Force base after he apparently threatened an off-duty FBI agent with a knife.
Ronald J. Bullock, 61, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was taking medications, according to published reports in Tampa that quoted Bullock’s uncle and one of his brothers.
The confrontation and shooting occurred about 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Dale Mabry gate at MacDill Air Force Base. Bullock was pronounced dead an hour later.
On Thursday, Bullock’s family remained in the dark about what happened.
‘‘Something happened at the gate. He pulled a knife and an FBI agent shot him. It’s all very sketchy,’’ Bullock's brother, John, told Channel 5.
Authorities said the incident began with an altercation at an on-base camping area that is open to anyone with a military identification card.
The off-duty FBI agent who shot Bullock was with base security officers responding to the disturbance. According to authorities, Bullock got on his motorcycle and headed for the gate, refusing to stop for security.
Bullock was shot after he got off his motorcycle at the closed gate and began wielding a knife while walking toward the FBI agent, authorities said.
‘‘Something happened at the trailer park where my brother lives – some altercation,’’ John Bullock of Hanson told Channel 5. ‘‘He sped off on his motorcycle. They closed the gate; he dropped his bike and pulled a knife. I guarantee it was a fishing knife because that is all he did was fish. And that was it.’’
John Bullock said his brother was a Vietnam veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
A 1985 Patriot Ledger story about Bullock’s late father, Joe, a World War II veteran, mentioned that Ronald Bullock was in the Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
An FBI shooting-investigation team will review the incident and make a report in about two weeks. Bullock’s uncle in Tampa, Phil Sullivan, told the Tampa Tribune that Bullock had been a dog trainer in Vietnam and was awarded two Purple Hearts.
Another brother, Donald, told the St. Petersburg Times that Ronald Bullock was disabled by a grenade blast in Vietnam.
Reports from Tampa also said Bullock had been on probation in Texas for using a meat cleaver to threaten a police officer investigating a domestic incident at Bullock’s home.
A few years later, he reportedly served time in a Texas prison for drug possession.
