Sgt. Christopher Collins, a 2006 Bakersfield High School graduate, was just one building over from where Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly went on his rampage, killing 13 people and wounding 30 others.

Sgt. Christopher Collins and his wife, Katie, are seen in this photo provided by the Collins family.

"He spent a year in Iraq, (and) I had the relief when he came home," his mother, Dena Collins, said Friday. "I believed he would be safe on a base."

Christopher Collins returned from the desert in June and settled into life at Fort Hood with his wife, Katie.

Dena Collins was working Thursday when a friend called her and asked if her son was OK. She was perplexed by the question until she turned on a TV and saw the horrific news, she said.

"I immediately tried to call Chris, and I couldn't get through," she said. "To know that my son was there and could have possibly been shot."

Dena Collins was able to reach her daughter-in-law, who had spoken briefly via phone with Christopher.

The young soldier from Bakersfield eventually made it home safe, about 9 p.m., Dena Collins said.