Fort Hood - Twelve killed, including gunman; 31 wounded

Necro · 11-05-2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

(CNN) -- Eleven people plus a gunman were dead and 31 wounded after a shooting Thursday at a soldier-processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, officials said.

The gunman who was killed was a soldier, Army Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said. Two other soldiers initially detained as suspects have been released, but another person of interest is in custody, said Christopher Haug, chief of public affairs at Fort Hood.

The slain gunman was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a law enforcement source told CNN. Licensed in Virginia, Hasan was a psychiatrist who previously worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center but more recently was practicing at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, according to professional records.

Hasan was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq, "and appeared to be upset about that," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said.

"I think that there is a lot of investigation going on now into his background and what he was doing that was not known before," Hutchison said.

Ten of the other dead also were soldiers, while the remaining one was a civilian police officer who was working as a contractor on the base, Cone said.

Two of the injured were in "very serious" condition, Fort Hood spokesman Christopher Hogue said.

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More than one shooter may have been involved, Cone said.

"All the casualties took place at the initial incident, that took place at 13:30 [1:30 p.m. CT], at the soldier readiness facility," Cone said.

The primary shooter had two weapons, both handguns, he said.

"The local police response forces were there relatively quickly and killed the confirmed shooter," Cone said.

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Hutchison said she was told that the soldiers at the readiness facility "were filling out paper processing to go to Iraq or Afghanistan," according to CNN affiliate KXAN in Austin, Texas.

A senior officer who was playing golf Thursday about 2.5 miles from the attack said he witnessed the arrest of one of the two surviving suspects.

Shortly after the shooting, military police told him to clear the course, and he saw other MPs surround the building that held the golf carts, he said. He ducked into a nearby house for cover as 30 to 40 cars carrying MPs approached, he said.

A congressional aide said he was on the post to attend a graduation service when he saw a soldier with blood on his uniform near the building where the service was being held, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Greg Schannep, an aide to U.S. Rep. John Carter, said the soldier ran past him and said a man was shooting. He said the soldier appeared to be injured in a shoulder, the American-Statesman reported.

President Obama called the shootings "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence." He expressed his condolences for the shooting victims.

"These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk, and at times give, their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis," Obama said. "It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."

Officials at Fort Hood, which is the Army's largest U.S. post, were asking people there to stay away from windows, CNN affiliate KXXV said. The incident took place at the sports dome, now known as the soldier readiness area, the station reported.

The Army has asked the FBI to look into the background of the suspects, Cone said.

On the Fort Hood Web site, the word "closed" is posted with the statement, "Effective immediately, Fort Hood is closed. Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 percent accountability of all personnel."

Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, posted an online appeal for blood as it began receving victims. "Due to the recent events on Fort Hood, we are in URGENT need of ALL blood types," it said.

Fort Hood, with about 40,000 troops, is home to the Army's 1st Cavalry Division and elements of the 4th Infantry Division, as well as the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 13th Corps Support Command. It is located near Killeen, Texas.

At least 25,000 people are at Fort Hood on any given day, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon said.

Fort Hood is home to the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome combat stress issues.

In June, Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, told CNN that he was trying to ease the kind of stresses soldiers face. He has pushed for soldiers working a day schedule to return home for dinner by 6 p.m., and required his personal authorization for anyone working weekends. At the time, two soldiers stationed there had committed suicide in 2009 -- a rate well below those of other posts.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* NEW: Source: Slain gunman identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist
* NEW: Senator: Hasan was "upset" about scheduled deployment to Iraq
* More than one shooter may have been involved, Fort Hood spokesman says
* Two of the 31 injured were in "very serious" condition

Wow what a tragedy feel bad for the families of these brave men, and women.

TheBoogeyMan · 11-05-2009, 08:42 PM

unbelievable. Apparently our men and women in uniform aren't safe even on US soil.

Bigpapa42 · 11-05-2009, 09:01 PM

That's fucked up.

On a personal level, I think the worst part is that this kind of story barely causes any kind of reaction for me at this point. I do not like the thought that these kind of tragedies don't elicit a major emotion reaction from me anymore.

dxanman · 11-05-2009, 09:12 PM

That's absolutely horrible. But, the guy will never have justice served to him because - whether he's a soldier or not - he was killed. In a way, it seems like he saved himself from having to face the families of those he injured/killed, and clearly had no disregard for what he was doing. I feel no sadness towards the shooter (just the victims).

Soldier or not, he's a coward. Plain and simple.

**To all those that do serve, there's no disrespect intended towards any of you... just the one solitary man who was the cause of this.**

Beaker · 11-05-2009, 09:24 PM

My buddy is stationed there. Very shocking to hear this. Guy was suicidal. Unfortunately he couldn't just off himself and had to take it out on others.

Dakstang · 11-05-2009, 09:26 PM

Very sad turn of events.

Maybe this will draw some attention to the fact that soldiers are being re-deployed as many as 3 or 4 times.

TheBoogeyMan · 11-06-2009, 12:29 AM

i just read on CNN that the gunman was found alive, not killed like previously thought. Apparently this guy is a licensed psychiatrist. This fucker couldnt even keep his own head on straight, yet he is a psychiatrist. Fucking unbelievable.

Dmac · 11-06-2009, 06:11 AM

If anything this kind of thing just pisses me off, if someone is depressed to a point then fine just kill yourself, but why do innocent bystanders have to get into it? To me it's just glorified attention seeking of the guy trying to be remembered. Well I hope he's happy with his publicity....