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Fort Hood Suspect Alive in Hospital, U.S. Army Says (Update2)
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By Viola Gienger and Anthony Capaccio
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. army psychiatrist who allegedly opened fire in the grounds of Fort Hood Army Base in Texas, killing 12 people and wounding 31 others, is alive and in custody in a hospital, the military said.
The suspected gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, acted alone and wasn’t killed as previously reported, Lieutenant General Robert Cone, commander of III Corps at the base, said at a news conference today. Two other suspects held earlier have been released, Cone said.
“We believe the evidence indicates it was a single shooter,” Cone told reporters at the base, adding Hasan was in a stable condition. “He is not currently speaking to investigators.”
The shootings began at about 1:30 p.m. local time at a personnel processing center near the Howzee Theater, where friends and family were gathering for a graduation ceremony for troops taking college extension courses, the Pentagon said. President Barack Obama called it a “horrific outburst of violence” directed at soldiers who have dedicated their lives to protecting the nation.
While the deaths of soldiers in battles overseas is tragic, “it is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil,” Obama said in Washington.
Military police locked down the base after the shooting, lifting the restrictions hours later after determining there was no likelihood of a further threat. State and federal authorities are helping with the investigation, Cone said.
Overseas Deployment
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said she was told by Fort Hood authorities the shooter had been “very upset and angry for the last few days.”
It wasn’t clear whether that was because he was going to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, she said. Cone declined to provide any information on Hasan beyond his name.
The Virginia Board of Medicine lists Hasan as a licensed physician who has a primary practice at the Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. It says he received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2003 and completed a residency in psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington in 2007 and a fellowship in disaster and preventive psychiatry in 2009.
Hasan, 39, transferred to Fort Hood in July, the Associated Press reported, citing unidentified military officials.
Devout Muslim
He was a devout Muslim and had sought for several years to be discharged from the military, the Washington Post reported, citing his aunt. Noel Hasan told the newspaper her nephew had endured name-calling and harassment about his faith for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
The harassment stemmed from his “Middle Eastern ethnicity” and he had hired a military attorney, Nader Hasan, the major’s cousin, told Fox News.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the shootings at a press conference on Capitol Hill and urged calm as investigators piece together the details of what happened.
“No political or religious ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence,” Nihad Awad, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted our nation’s all-volunteer army that includes thousands of Muslims in all services.”
Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also cautioned against speculation.
Army Investigation
The Army should be allowed to complete its investigation before “we speculate about the circumstances leading to this senseless violence,” Mullen said in a statement.
The suspected shooter came to the attention of authorities six months ago because of Internet postings discussing suicide bombings and other threats, AP reported, citing unidentified law enforcement officials.
One of the Web postings equated suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades, according to the report. Officials are trying to confirm whether Hasan was the author of the postings and a federal search warrant is being drawn up to authorize the seizure of his computer, the news service said.
Fort Hood, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Austin, the Texas capital, houses about 45,000 U.S. troops and is home to the Army’s 1st Calvary and 4th Infantry divisions. It is one of the three largest Army bases in the U.S. by population and acreage.
Suicides
The base has felt the strain of multiple combat deployments, with 10 suicides reported there this year and more than 75 since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Washington Post reported.
Officials at Fort Hood are “marshalling the medical support and counselors necessary to take care of our soldiers and their families and to notify the next of kin,” Army Secretary John McHugh said in a statement.
Nine of the shooting victims were being treated at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, according to the hospital’s Web site. All of the patients are adults, it said. More victims are expected and the hospital put out an appeal for blood donations.
Confusion over whether the alleged shooter was killed occurred because a number of people were evacuated from the scene in the aftermath, Cone said. A female officer originally thought to have been killed is alive and in stable condition after surgery.
“She is believed to be the first responder who shot the suspect,” Cone said.
Two Locations
Most of the wounded were military, he said, adding shootings occurred at two locations.
At the processing center, soldiers were awaiting dental and medical treatment in a large waiting area, accounting for the high number of casualties, Cone said. At the auditorium about 50 meters away, 138 soldiers were graduating, and officials were able to close the doors to protect participants, he said.
The shooter was believed to have had two weapons, one of them semi-automatic, allowing him to fire rapidly in succession, Cone said.
“As horrible as this was, I think it could have been much worse,” he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at [email protected]; Anthony Capaccio in Washington at [email protected].
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 23:26 EST
Share Business ExchangeTwitterFacebook| Email | Print | A A A
By Viola Gienger and Anthony Capaccio
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. army psychiatrist who allegedly opened fire in the grounds of Fort Hood Army Base in Texas, killing 12 people and wounding 31 others, is alive and in custody in a hospital, the military said.
The suspected gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, acted alone and wasn’t killed as previously reported, Lieutenant General Robert Cone, commander of III Corps at the base, said at a news conference today. Two other suspects held earlier have been released, Cone said.
“We believe the evidence indicates it was a single shooter,” Cone told reporters at the base, adding Hasan was in a stable condition. “He is not currently speaking to investigators.”
The shootings began at about 1:30 p.m. local time at a personnel processing center near the Howzee Theater, where friends and family were gathering for a graduation ceremony for troops taking college extension courses, the Pentagon said. President Barack Obama called it a “horrific outburst of violence” directed at soldiers who have dedicated their lives to protecting the nation.
While the deaths of soldiers in battles overseas is tragic, “it is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil,” Obama said in Washington.
Military police locked down the base after the shooting, lifting the restrictions hours later after determining there was no likelihood of a further threat. State and federal authorities are helping with the investigation, Cone said.
Overseas Deployment
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas Republican, said she was told by Fort Hood authorities the shooter had been “very upset and angry for the last few days.”
It wasn’t clear whether that was because he was going to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, she said. Cone declined to provide any information on Hasan beyond his name.
The Virginia Board of Medicine lists Hasan as a licensed physician who has a primary practice at the Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. It says he received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2003 and completed a residency in psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington in 2007 and a fellowship in disaster and preventive psychiatry in 2009.
Hasan, 39, transferred to Fort Hood in July, the Associated Press reported, citing unidentified military officials.
Devout Muslim
He was a devout Muslim and had sought for several years to be discharged from the military, the Washington Post reported, citing his aunt. Noel Hasan told the newspaper her nephew had endured name-calling and harassment about his faith for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
The harassment stemmed from his “Middle Eastern ethnicity” and he had hired a military attorney, Nader Hasan, the major’s cousin, told Fox News.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the shootings at a press conference on Capitol Hill and urged calm as investigators piece together the details of what happened.
“No political or religious ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence,” Nihad Awad, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted our nation’s all-volunteer army that includes thousands of Muslims in all services.”
Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also cautioned against speculation.
Army Investigation
The Army should be allowed to complete its investigation before “we speculate about the circumstances leading to this senseless violence,” Mullen said in a statement.
The suspected shooter came to the attention of authorities six months ago because of Internet postings discussing suicide bombings and other threats, AP reported, citing unidentified law enforcement officials.
One of the Web postings equated suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades, according to the report. Officials are trying to confirm whether Hasan was the author of the postings and a federal search warrant is being drawn up to authorize the seizure of his computer, the news service said.
Fort Hood, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Austin, the Texas capital, houses about 45,000 U.S. troops and is home to the Army’s 1st Calvary and 4th Infantry divisions. It is one of the three largest Army bases in the U.S. by population and acreage.
Suicides
The base has felt the strain of multiple combat deployments, with 10 suicides reported there this year and more than 75 since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Washington Post reported.
Officials at Fort Hood are “marshalling the medical support and counselors necessary to take care of our soldiers and their families and to notify the next of kin,” Army Secretary John McHugh said in a statement.
Nine of the shooting victims were being treated at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, according to the hospital’s Web site. All of the patients are adults, it said. More victims are expected and the hospital put out an appeal for blood donations.
Confusion over whether the alleged shooter was killed occurred because a number of people were evacuated from the scene in the aftermath, Cone said. A female officer originally thought to have been killed is alive and in stable condition after surgery.
“She is believed to be the first responder who shot the suspect,” Cone said.
Two Locations
Most of the wounded were military, he said, adding shootings occurred at two locations.
At the processing center, soldiers were awaiting dental and medical treatment in a large waiting area, accounting for the high number of casualties, Cone said. At the auditorium about 50 meters away, 138 soldiers were graduating, and officials were able to close the doors to protect participants, he said.
The shooter was believed to have had two weapons, one of them semi-automatic, allowing him to fire rapidly in succession, Cone said.
“As horrible as this was, I think it could have been much worse,” he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at [email protected]; Anthony Capaccio in Washington at [email protected].
Last Updated: November 5, 2009 23:26 EST
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