POST FALLS -- A young soldier from Post Falls who was preparing to deploy on his first combat tour overseas to Afghanistan is recovering after being wounded in the shootings at Fort Hood Thursday.

George Stratton III, 18, of Post Falls was shot and wounded in the attack at the Fort Hood Readiness Center Thursday.

“George wasn’t really paying attention to what he was doing and then all of a sudden, said about 15 rounds went off really quick and he just said it was ear shattering,” his dad George Stratton Jr. said.

The younger Stratton was at the Fort Hood Readiness Center preparing for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in January and was about five feet away from the shooter when he was hit.

“He said he was five feet away from me, dad, and he shot me right in the shoulder,” Stratton said.

Lynne Stratton, George's stepmother, says a split second reaction likely saved her stepson's life.

“It got him on his left, straight through, no bone injured or no nerves,” she said. “He said he's in a lot of pain but he seem OK,” she said.

After the shooting Stratton called his parents from the ambulance to tell them he was OK however they were having lunch when their son called and let his message go to voicemail. It wasn't until later they learned about the shootings at Ft. Hood and retrieved the voicemail to find out George had been shot.

“It was a voicemail saying it's going crazy here and I've been shot in my left shoulder but I'm alright I'm on my way to the hospital,” Lynne said.

“I’m thinking he’s pretty lucky, because it sounded like this guy knew what he was doing, I don’t know if he moved or flinched or whatever, but thank God, whatever it was, because hit could have been a lot worse,” Stratton's dad said.

Lynne Stratton says her stepson's physical wounds will heal but worries about the emotional ones.

“Our hearts go out to the ones that weren't so lucky. We feel for those parents. We just hope the ones that survived can get over it,” she said.

Stratton is expected to recover from his injuries.

“He's a young soldier who wanted to serve his country and now he's in the hospital and he hasn't been to war yet,” Lynne said.