News Update

POSTED: Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Army psychiatrist kills 12, wounds 31 at Fort Hood, Texas

FORT HOOD — An Army major opened fire with two handguns Thursday on a group of soldiers at a U.S. Army base in central Texas, killing 12 and wounding 31. The soldiers were making their final preparations for deployment to Iraq, Fort Hood's base commander said.

Military officials said Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspected shooter who was reported to have been killed in the rampage, was instead one of those who was injured.

Hasan, 39, was a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for six years before being transferred to Fort Hood in July, the officials said.

The officials had access to Hasan's military record. They said he received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because military records are confidential.

The Virginia-born soldier was single with no children. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech University, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1997. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001. At Walter Reed, he did his internship, residency and a fellowship.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Hasan was about to deploy overseas.

The Texas senator says she was told about the upcoming deployment by generals based at Fort Hood. But it was unclear if he was headed to Iraq or Afghanistan and exactly when he was scheduled to leave.

The office of a Texas congressman said two soldiers who were taken into custody after the shootings have been released.

A spokesman for Rep. John Carter said Fort Hood officials informed Carter’s office of the release. Carter's congressional district includes the Army base.

"It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," said Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the commander of III Corps, in a news conference earlier in the afternoon.

The shootings began about 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a personnel and medical processing center at Fort Hood, Cone said. The second incident took place at a theater on the base. Cone said Hasan used two handguns during the attack.

A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on in an auditorium at the Readiness Center at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.

There is no word yet on the identities of the dead or wounded.

Greg Schanepp, Carter's regional director in Texas, was representing Carter at the graduation, said John Stone, a spokesman for Carter.

Schanepp was at the ceremony when a soldier who had been shot in the back came running toward him and alerted him to the shooting, Stone said. The soldier told Schanepp not to go in the direction of the shooter, he said. Stone said he believes Schanepp was in the theater.

Distraught Fort Hood family members, including parents rushing to pick up their children from day-care, gathered at the main gate after the base was locked down.

"When I first heard, I was in tears," said Cynthia Wood, whose 33-month-old son Conner was in day-care on the base. "It's very disheartening not being able to get your child."

As she was talking to reporters, her husband, Army Spec. Joshua Wood, was sending her a frantic text-message from Iraq asking for more details.

Monica Cain brushed back tears as she explained that she was unable to reach her husband, whom she had taken to Fort Hood earlier in the day for medical treatment of a head injury he suffered in combat Sgt. Barren Cain, had told her he planned to call at 1 p.m. to summon her to pick him up. But by mid-afternoon, after news of the shooting spread across the region, she had not heard from him and was unable to reach him by cell phone.

"I don't know what's going on," she said. "I'm very scared."

She said the medical center was not far from the reported scene of the shooting.

Nine schools on the base remained on lockdown at 5:30 p.m.

"No one is getting in or out," said Todd Martin, Killeen school district spokesman.

Security is high because the schools are on the post, Martin said, "So it's a little different than a regular suburban neighborhood."

The school district has a call system so they can call the parents once students are allowed to leave, Martin said.

Officials at the Pentagon said the wounded were taken to Darnell Army Hospital for treatment.

Hundreds of personnel are typically in the Soldier Readiness Center throughout the day, said base spokesman Steve Moore. The facility is located in a populous part of the western side of the base, near barracks and a fast-food center.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, clearly shaken by the tragedy, asked her colleagues on the Senate floor to observe a minute of silence in honor of those killed and wounded at Fort Hood. The normally long-winded senators then stood in silence for a minute.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry directed the deployment of state resources, including Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Texas Rangers and helicopters, to provide support at the base.

He also ordered that all Texas flags be lowered to half-staff until Sunday.

"The Texas family suffered a significant loss today with the tragedy at Fort Hood. Along with all Texans, Anita and I are keeping those affected by today's incidents in our thoughts and prayers," Perry said in a statement.

Around the country, some military bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down.

"The bottom line for us is that we are increasing security at our gates because the threat hasn't yet been defined, and we're reminding our Marines to be vigilant in their areas of responsibility," said Capt. Rob Dolan, public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.

In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting "a horrific outburst of violence." He said it's a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil.

"We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident," the commander in chief said. "We are going to stay on this."

Obama spoke late Thursday afternoon with Cone to express condolences and to offer any help he might need, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Obama was getting regular Oval Office updates on the shooting from his staff, led by his homeland security adviser, John Brennan.

Fort Hood is adjacent to Killeen, and 60 miles northeast of Austin.

Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, the sprawling base is located halfway between Austin and Waco.

Fort Hood officially opened on Sept. 18, 1942, and was named in honor of Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood. It has been continuously used for armored training and is charged with maintaining readiness for combat missions.