13 dead and 30 wounded at Fort Hood military base

[philw]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26312336-401,00.html

GUNMEN have killed seven people and wounded 12 others in a shooting at Fort Hood military base in Texas, the US media is reporting.
There are reports one gunman is in custody and another is still on the loose.

MSNBC says the two suspects were in military uniform.

Another media report says there was a third shooter involved.

The attack happened at the Soldier Readiness Centre at Fort Hood, according to the FOX 4 television station.

The base is currently in lockdown mode, according to Fort Hood's website.

Fort Hood is halfway between Austin and Waco, about 97km from each city.

With Reuters

RIP    to the Victims  and my thoughts to there families

[fightingquaker13]

Damn. I spent a lot time hunting there. I will pray for the victims and their families. The article from MSNBC is below.
FQ13

At least seven people are dead and 20 wounded in a mass shooting Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, and at least one suspect is believed to be holed up in a building and shooting at SWAT team members, NBC News and affiliate KCEN reported.

It was unknown whether the victims were all soldiers or civilians at Fort Hood, one of the largest military complexes in the world.

One gunman was reportedly in custody and another was on the loose, NBC News said. A third shooter may be involved, according to NBC News affiliate KCEN in Waco, which said the person was holed up in building 42006 on the base and had opened fire on SWAT team members. KCEN quoted a source as saying the shooter had a high-powered rifle.

KCEN reported that a policeman was among those shot.

Greg Schannep, an aide to U.S. Rep. John Carter, told the Austin American-Statesman that he was on the Army post to attend a graduation service. He said that as he neared the entrance of a building where the service was being held, a soldier with blood on his uniform ran past him and said a man was shooting.

Schannep told the newspaper that the shootings appeared to have occurred in a complex near a theater where the service was scheduled. He was with the injured soldier, who he said appeared to have been struck in the shoulder but did not have life-threatening injuries.

The shooting happened "near the soldier readiness processing center, where soldiers cycle through as they prepare to deploy," according to Sgt. Major Jamie Posten from the Fort Hood public affairs office.

He said this is where the soldiers go, up to 60 days before deployment, to begin the process of vaccinations and other preparation. That complex is on the West side of post, off Battalion Avenue.

"It's still developing. We're trying to figure out what took place on the ground," he said.

A nurse at Metroplex Hospital on Fort Hood confirms that those injured in the shooting were being taken there. She told NBC they were all military personnel. The base was reportedly on lockdown. The Killeen Independent School District said all Fort Hood schools are on lockdown.

Temple ISD is on a "soft" lockdown. Parents will be able to pick their children up at the normal times, though they may experience delays.

 
FBI agents were reportedly on the way to the post.

Fort Hood is adjacent to Killeen, and 60 miles northeast of Austin. The sprawling complex is home to at least 4,929 active duty officers and 45,414 enlisted. Civilian employees total nearly 9,000.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Lee M. Packnett said he was unaware if security measures were put in place at other military bases.

“At this point I do not know,” Packnett said.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the shootings, according to spokesman Robert Gibbs.

[Hazcat]

12 Dead 31 wounded.  Shooter (soldier) dead and two other soldiers in custody.


DAMN!

[PegLeg45]

12 Dead 31 wounded.  Shooter (soldier) dead and two other soldiers in custody.


DAMN!

Yeah, double damn.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased and injured.



I'll also say a prayer for the crap-storm this will stir up concerning the 2A.

[Woody]

 They did it with handguns, here it comes, soldiers register your weapons. This will not go well for gun owners, and if they try it in Texas... whoa!

[Sponsor]

[Hazcat]

Shooter identified.

The suspected gunman was identified by ABC News as Major Malik Nadal Hasan.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/soldiers-killed-fort-hood-shooting/story?id=9007938

[philw]

they have updated the story here as well

very sad day. 

looks like there is a LOT more that is happerning than what they are reporting 
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26312336-401,00.html

12 dead in shooting at Fort Hood
Gunmen was US-born Muslim, "hated wars"
In pictures: Tragedy in Fort Hood, Texas

A GUNMAN who was wounded after killing 12 people at a US Army base may have signalled his intentions online as long as six months ago.

Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan is in a stable condition in hospital after arming himself with two handguns and going on a rampage at Fort Hood military base in Texas.

The suspected gunman is in a hospital in stable condition, contrary to previous reports he had been killed, an Army general said.

"Our investigation is ongoing but preliminary reports indicate that there was a single shooter," Lieutenant-General Robert Cone told a news conference.

"The shooter is not dead but in custody in stable condition."

He previously said the suspect was killed by police officers during the attack at the biggest military facility in the world.

Lt Cone said the suspect, whom he identified as Hasan, had been shot multiple times.

He was also a lifelong Muslim, born and bred in the US state of Virginia.

He has no children, no partner - and a loathing for the wars in Iraq and Afghanstan, according to his colleagues at the base.

Hasan would talk openly about his anger about the US troop presence in the Middle East, colleague Terry Lee said.

"He's made several comments about how we shouldn't be there."

He had heard Hasan say: "Maybe the Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressors."

Federal law enforcement officials say the suspected shooter had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.

US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas told FOX News: "I do know that he has been known to have told people that he was upset about going (to Iraq)."

Hasan's cousin Nader confirmed her comments.

Nader said his cousin had joined the military from high school and had served as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"He was a psychiatrist at Walter Reed dealing with the people coming back and ... trying to help them with their trauma," he said.

He said his cousin had been transferred to Fort Hood in April months ago and was very reluctant to be deployed to Iraq.

"We've known over the last five years that was probably his worst nightmare," he said.

Army investigators had identified two other suspects, but after being held and questioned, the two soldiers were released.

Another person is now in custody, a military spokesman said.

Military public affairs spokesman Christopher Haug told CNN the two initial suspects "had been cleared".

"Another person is in custody," he added, without giving further details except to confirm that the new suspect was a soldier.

The army believes there was only one shooter involved in the incident.

The Fort Hood base remains in lockdown and the FBI is running background checks on the suspected gunman.

The bloodbath unfolded at the Soldier Readiness Centre, where troops undergo final medical checks prior to their deployment, Lieutenant Cone said.

Army personnel told a Fox news affiliate they were not sure if the victims were civilians or military personnel.

Graduation

US media reports said the shooting happened about 30 minutes before a scheduled graduation hearing.

Local congressman John Carter told MSNBC television: "I had a man on the scene, who is my regional director and former chaplin at Fort Hood, waiting to go to a graduation ceremony when a soldier came running up to him saying, 'Sir, don't go over there. They are - somebody is shooting over there','' Mr Carter said.

"When the soldier ran by him, he saw the soldier didn't know it, but he was wounded.

"So, he went into the building and they stopped him, because he had been shot.

"He heard small arms and some rifle fire while he was there and that he thought they had one person that they had caught but there may be more, he didn't know.

"He understood there was more than one, that was all he said."

Worst killing

The incident at Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the world, was one of the worst killings reported on a US military base.

In May a US soldier at a base in Baghdad shot dead five fellow soldiers.

It raised new questions about the toll that six years of continuous fighting in Iraq and nearly eight years fighting in Afghanistan have taken on the US military and on individual soldiers, many of whom have been on several combat tours.

Fort Hood had been working to rehabilitate many soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

A message on Fort Hood's website - the headquarters of the Army 3rd Corps, the 4th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division - said it was closed, but gave no further details. All those units have seen extensive duty in Iraq.

"Effective immediately. Fort Hood is closed. Organisations/units are instructed to execute a 100 per cent accountability of all personnel. This is not a drill. It is an emergency situation," the website said.

Schools in the area were also on lockdown, MSNBC said.

President Barack Obama said the shooting was "a horrific outburst of violence".

"My immediate prayers are with the families of the fallen."

[Jackel]

how the hell did this happen on a military base?

active shooter running around, military or not, shouldn't be able to top 7 guys and injure 30! the MP's are gonna get hell for this.

[tombogan03884]

how the hell did this happen on a military base?

active shooter running around, military or not, shouldn't be able to top 7 guys and injure 30! the MP's are gonna get hell for this.

Why, they're no different than any other cops, they can't be everywhere.

[philw]

just a question 


is this considered a "Gun Free Zone"    or are they able to have CCW on base ?