Fort Hood shooting: Suspected gunman not among fatalities

Fort Hood shooting: Suspected gunman not among fatalities

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is in custody in the rampage that left 12 dead and 31 injured in Texas.

By Julian E. Barnes, Josh Meyer and Kate Linthicum
6:46 PM PST, November 5, 2009
Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington


In an act of violence that sent shock waves through the American military establishment and raised questions about base security, a man armed with two handguns allegedly opened fire Thursday afternoon on the grounds of Ft. Hood, the country's largest military base. Twelve people were killed and 31 others injured. The suspect, an Army psychologist, was shot and in custody. The base, home to about 70,000 soldiers and their families, was locked down.

Army officials identified the attacker as Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a major who was recently promoted from captain and worked at the Darnall Army Medical Center, Ft. Hood's hospital. Officials had previously reported that Hasan was among the dead.

Officials with access to Hasan's records told the Associated Press that Hasan, who is single and has no children, worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for six years before being transferred to the Texas base in July. They said he received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed.

FBI officials in Washington and in San Antonio said that they had not determined whether others were involved in the attack.

President Obama lamented the attack as a "horrific outburst of violence" and promised justice. "We are going to stay on this," he said.

"These are men and women who have made the selfless decision" to protect the nation, Obama said of the victims. "It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."

Shooting broke out around 1:30 p.m. local time at a personnel and medical processing office, said Lt. Col. Nathan Banks, an Army spokesman.

A second incident took place at a theater on the base, Banks said. One official who would not give his name said that a graduation had been scheduled for 2 p.m. at the theater.

The base was locked down after the shootings, and people who live there were told to lock their doors and windows. Families, so used to being separated during long deployments, were separated again in a situation that to many seemed surreal.

"My friend's husband called her from Iraq and said, 'Isn't it sad that I am safer over here in Iraq than you are at home?' " said Jessica Sullens, 28, who had spent hours in a nearby Wal-Mart parking lot, where she had dashed on a midday errand. Her own husband, Cpl. Thomas Sullens and their 1- and 2-year old daughters were in lockdown on the base, he with his motor pool while the children were with a neighbor. "This is unreal to me," Sullens said.

Army officials said they did not know whether the handguns used in the assault were military-issued service weapons or personal weapons.

The rules for carrying weapons on an Army post are standard throughout all bases, service officials said. The only personnel allowed to openly display weapons on the base are military police, Banks said. Service weapons are checked daily and are usually only allowed to be removed from an arms room for training on a range or maintenance. Personal weapons must be kept locked and registered with the base provost marshal. The military police keep a record of all of the weapons on a base, Army officials said.

Ft. Hood, which sprawls across 339 square miles of central Texas hill country, is the world's largest military installation. It supports two full armored divisions -- the 1st Cavalry Division and the 4th Infantry Division -- and is home to more than 70,000 soldiers, civilian workers and family members. It is the largest single employer in Texas.

Base personnel have accounted for more suicides than any other Army post since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with 75 tallied through July of this year. Nine of those suicides occurred in 2009, counting two in overseas war zones.

Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army's deputy chief of staff, has been leading an effort to reduce the number of Army suicides, which has climbed sharply this year, possibly as a result from long and repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Three of the four brigades of the 1st Calvary Division are in Iraq. The three brigades -- the first, second and third -- are on their third Iraq tour. The division's newest brigade, the fourth, has done two tours in Iraq, returning most recently in June.

Ft. Hood also is home to three of the brigades of the 4th Infantry Division. The fourth brigade is now in Afghanistan. The first brigade has done three tours in Iraq, returning most recently in March. The second brigade has also done three tours, returning most recently in September.

The military has not released the names of those who were wounded or killed.


Times staff writer Robin Abcarian in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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US gunman 'set for Afghan tour'

Col Dr Steven Braverman describes Major Nidal Malik Hasan and his work

A US major believed to have killed 13 people in a gun attack at a Texas army base was due to be deployed soon to Afghanistan, a military official said.

Maj Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a US-born Muslim, opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood on Thursday.

Relatives of the army psychiatrist said he had strongly opposed his deployment and had wanted to leave the army.

US officials said investigations into what prompted the attack had continued through the night.

Early on Friday the commander of the Fort Hood base, Lt Gen Robert Cone, told reporters that, according to eyewitnesses, the gunman had shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar!" [God is great] before opening fire.

Military officials said 12 soldiers and one civilian had been killed.

MAJOR NIDAL MALIK HASAN
US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan
US-born Muslim raised in Virginia
Joined the army and trained to be a psychiatrist
Treated soldiers returning from combat zones
Described as a devout Muslim who attended prayers regularly
Said to have been unhappy about imminent overseas deployment

Profile: Major Nidal Malik Hasan

Of the 28 people who remained in hospital, 14 had required surgery but all were in a stable condition, Col Dr Steven Braverman said.

Deputy base commander Col John Rossi declined to comment on what might have triggered the attack. "We'll let investigators find that out," said.

Maj Hasan was shot four times during the attack and is currently being treated in hospital, under armed guard.

The policewoman who shot him first is in a stable condition, officials said.

President Barack Obama described it as "a horrific outburst of violence".

He said: "It is difficult enough when we lose these brave men and women abroad, but it is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on US soil."

'Could have been worse'

The shooting began at about 1330 (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a personnel and medical centre at Fort Hood.

Lt Gen Cone said a graduation ceremony for a group of soldiers was taking place nearby.

SHOOTINGS AT FORT HOOD

Shooting started at 1330 local time at Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Fort Hood, the world's largest US military base


Timeline: Fort Hood shootings
Reaction: US base shootings
In pictures: Fort Hood shootings

"Thanks to the quick reaction of several soldiers, they were able to close off the doors to that auditorium where there were some 600 people inside," he said.

"As horrible as this was, I think it could have been much worse."

A picture is beginning to emerge of the suspect, a psychiatrist who was transferred to the Texas base in July.

Reports suggested that he had been increasingly unhappy in the military and that his work at his previous post - Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC - had been the subject of concern.

His cousin told US media that Maj Hasan had been opposed to an imminent deployment overseas, describing it as his "worst nightmare".

He also said that Maj Hasan had been battling racial harassment because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity".

Another Fort Hood soldier told the BBC that the incident could put pressure on Muslim American soldiers.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE

More from BBC World Service

"They've taken it hard, due to the fact that it kind of puts a negative light on them and makes people distrust them because everybody is going to look at them [and think]: 'Well, you're probably going to pull something like this'," the soldier said.

"And it's a sad fact that that will happen."

The New York Times said the FBI had been investigating internet postings by a man called Nidal Hasan that appeared to back suicide bombings - but said it was not clear whether it was the suspect.

The attack triggered shock and grief in Fort Hood, which is the largest US base in the world and home to about 40,000 troops.

Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered all flags in the state to fly at half-mast as a tribute to the victims.