Wounded Twin Cities soldier: 'I am OK'

Provided by family

Keara Bono Torkelson, 21, a graduate of Olathe South High School, was one of 31 people wounded Thursday at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. Twelve people were killed. courtesy of the family

Keara Bono Torkelson, who has been living in Wright County, was not seriously hurt, her dad said.

By BOB VON STERNBERG, Star Tribune

Last update: November 6, 2009 - 11:06 PM

A soldier with Minnesota ties was one of at least 28 people wounded in Thursday's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Reserve Spc. Keara Bono Torkelson "is a great girl who just wants to serve her country," her father, Steve, said Friday. "She's always put herself out for other people."

He was headed to Fort Hood from his home in Kansas City, Mo., to see his daughter, who he said "is doing great, but you can imagine she's kind of shaken up."

His daughter added this to her Facebook wall: "Just so everyone knows i am ok. Im strong. Keep praying."

She was treated and released at a hospital after being shot in the shoulder and grazed on the head by another bullet, Steve Bono said.

Bono Torkelson, 21, is a Kansas City native who has been living in Otsego, Minn., since her recent marriage to Joey Torkelson.

"Keara is OK Everyone she was shot but was treated and released from hospital," Joey Torkelson wrote on his wife's Facebook wall.

According to her father, Bono Torkelson was preparing to deploy to Iraq next month. The Kansas City Star reported that she was on the phone with her husband when he heard shots and screams, and the line went dead.

According to her Facebook posts, she has been a Reservist since August 2006 and most recently worked as a bartender in Kansas City.

A 2006 graduate from a suburban Kansas City high school, Bono Torkelson "got a free ride scholarship to [the University of Kansas], but she decided to join the army instead," Steve Bono said. "She thought it was important to serve."

He described his daughter as a "fiery little, even though she hardly weighs a buck-10 dripping wet. She really wanted to fight for her country."

Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184 The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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