BY BETTY ADAMS

Staff Writer

Text messages on his cell phone kept U.S. Army Specialist Anthony Gayne, of Augusta, informed as the tragedy of the Fort Hood shootings unfolded.

Gayne, an infantryman who spent June 2008 to June 2009 in Afghanistan, was in his barracks doing paperwork and had ignored the sound of gunshots because they sound so often from the shooting ranges.

Then, there were sirens and orders to get to the closest shelter, lock the doors and stay away from windows.

Gayne, 21, who has neither television nor regular Internet access, wondered what was going on.

"All I had was my cell phone," he said.

Then his sister, Katie Gayne, started texting him from Augusta, and his family started calling.

It was then he learned about the shootings and deaths taking place about two blocks away.

"It's really just shocking," Anthony Gayne said. "I go to Afghanistan and I came back and something like this happens in the United States. It's really outrageous."

Gayne, who graduated from Cony High School in 2006, said Friday he had yet to determine whether he knew any of those wounded or killed. "A friend in the area helping out said it was chaos," Gayne said.

At the fort, Gayne is recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in Afghanistan, and he plans to attend the University of Maine when his military service concludes next year.

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com