said Tuesday . While investigators said they had little insight into Barnes ' mind-set or motivations , the woman with whom he was in a custody dispute over their young daughter said in court documents filed last year that she was frightened to be in the same state with him . `` The weapons are harmful , and I do n't know if he will try to use them against myself or my family , '' the woman wrote in a filing for a temporary restraining order filed with the Pierce County Superior Court on May 24 . She wrote in other documents reported on by CNN affiliate KIRO that Barnes might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after a deployment to Iraq . Barnes , 24 , served as a radio and communications repair specialist with 2nd Squadron , 1st Calvary Regiment , a unit of the 2nd Infantry Division located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Seattle , according to Army spokesman Troy Rolan . He joined the Army in February 2007 and was deployed to Iraq from that year to shortly before his discharge in 2009 , Rolan said . Details of his discharge were not immediately available
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The man authorities believe was responsible for the New Year 's Day shooting death of a national park ranger in Washington state was a former soldier who owned many knives and guns despite an emotionally unstable , vindictive and anger-prone mind-set , the mother of his toddler daughter said in court documents . Authorities on Monday found Benjamin Colton Barnes ' body face down in a creek in Mount Rainier National Park , not far from where investigators believe he fatally shot park ranger Margaret Anderson . Investigators say they believe Barnes shot the ranger after he blew through a checkpoint set up to check vehicles to make sure they had the proper winter gear necessary to travel the park . Anderson and another ranger had set up a second roadblock to stop him when he jumped out of the car and opened fire . She was struck before she was able to get out of her vehicle , authorities said . Anderson , 34 , was the first Rainier park employee to be a homicide victim , and the devastated staff needed a few more days to recover before the park reopens Saturday , officials