Shootings At Fort Hood, TX Army Base: 12 Dead, 31 Wounded

According to the Army, seven people were killed and 20 were wounded in two shooting at an army base in Fort Hood, TX. The AP reports, "An Army spokesman at the Pentagon says the shootings began about 1:30 p.m. Thursday at a personnel and medical processing center at Fort Hood. The spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Banks, says two shooters were apparently involved. There is no word yet on who they were, nor on identities of the dead. He says it is too soon to tell whether there is any link to battle stress or repeated deployments."

Update: CNN reports that 9 are dead and the shooters were dressed in military uniform. One has been apprehended.

Update 5:28 p.m.: Now it's reported that 12 people are dead and 31 wounded. ABC News further adds, "The suspected gunman was identified by ABC News as Major Malik Nadal Hasan. The shooter was killed and two other suspects, who are also soldiers, have been apprehended, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone said. The gunman used two handguns, Cone said. He wasn't sure if the shooter reloaded the weapons during the attack."

President Obama called the incident a "horrific outburst of violence... It is difficult enough to lose [soldiers overseas, but said it is] horrifying that they should lose their lives at an Army base in the U.S." Obama also said, "My prayers are with the wounded and the families of the fallen."

Update 10:00 p.m.: Now the Army says that the shooter, whose name is Major Nidal Malik Hasan, is alive and in stable condition. CNN reports that he is 39 and "a "graduate of Virginia Tech and a psychiatrist licensed in Virginia who was practicing at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, according to military and professional records. Previously, he worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A federal official said Hasan is a U.S. citizen of Jordanian descent. Military documents show that Hasan was born in Virginia, and was never deployed outside the United States. Hasan was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq 'and appeared to be upset about that,' Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said."

The NY Times has more about Hasan, who was born and raised in Virginia:

But Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the 39-year-old man accused of Thursday’s mass shooting at Fort Hood, Tex., started having second thoughts about his military career a few years ago after other soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim, he told relatives in Virginia.

He had also more recently expressed deep concerns about being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. Having counseled scores of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, first at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and more recently at Fort Hood, he knew all too well the terrifying realities of war, said a cousin, Nader Hasan.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on November 5, 2009 5:27 PM

Comments [rss]

grandzu

There is no record of him being Muslim.

He was in the service since 95, single, born in Virginia and had listed “no religious preference” on his personnel records.

This was the act of one madman.

Just like the murder of 13 at a center for immigrants in upstate New York last April, the deaths of 10 during a gunman’s rampage in Alabama in March and 32 people killed at Virginia Tech in 2007, the deadliest shooting in modern American history.

HughGass

"soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim, he told relatives in Virginia. "

Stop making excuses for him and for his religion.

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

I blame Virginia Tech. There must be something in the water over there that takes longer to incubate in some gun-toting murderers than others.

angry_pickle

The military should have dismissed him for his poor performance in the first place. I'll love to hear what his excuse was for going on a rampage. I've already heard one possible excuse giving by little old ladies wearing rose-tinted glasses ... the stress of being sent to the middle east for duty. Funny this only inflict muslims.

inoyourider

Fuck this scumbag.

Hope his family is ashamed of him.

And if he is Muslim, bury him with a pig.

blkiznewprez

this guy was going to be deployed to iraq soon. he was just trying to teach the ones who were sending him there what it's like to be in the front lines of hell. thanks a lot dubya.

Tricksta

Oh for fuck's sake, enough with the stereotyping already.

How do you know the gunman was Muslim? Or did you just assume he was because of his name? (Like Barack Hussain Obama?)

Maybe instead of spewing your prejudice on a comment board you could actually, you know, read the news :

From the AP:

"Officials say it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to Islam at some point."

Mr Mel

Are you a betting man?

snickerdoodle

LOL at the nutjob who voted "Like" on this story. Must be muslim. Or a liberal.

NannyState

An army psychiatrist? Didn't he realize that opening fire on people can have anticholinergic side effects?

hunter.blatherer

He was trained well, by what is far and away the largest militant organization in the world.

Mr Mel

However he was trained as a doctor not an infantry grunt.

hunter.blatherer

He picked up some shooting skills along the way, somehow.

Homer2323

I cant believe its a Muslim. I just cant believe it. He is a Jordanian national and went to University of Damascus.

The religion of peace strikes again.

Sulayman

Why the Muslim bashing? Muslim groups rushed to condemn the attack, before the military even announced who it was. There are thousands of Muslims serving bravely in the armed forces, and by making such intolerant comments, you are denigrating them all. Why do you hate America?

snickerdoodle

"Authorities identify killed Fort Hood gunman as Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan."

Peaceful Muslims are at it again, I see.

No doubt the liberal media and other terrorist apologists will twist this into a "random shooting" incident.

rides on farts

I mean, is this the type of person that should be telling us about peace-loving?

A cop friend of ours had told us about the gang activity in the area and while I paid attention to him I didn't think it would come straight to our backyard. Needless to say I have my M4 loaded with a bandoleer ready to go

http://createarms.blogspot.com/2009/07/operation-wetback.html

S.D.

Riiiigggggghhhhhtttt...All Muslims are killers and Terrorists...

You just keep watching Faux News. It's serving you sooooo well.

grandzu

Did you take religion into account for the neo-Nazi attacks on the LA Jewish Center and Holocaust Museum?

What about the killings by the DC sniper?

Maybe you did for the murder of Dr. George Tiller in his church?

Stop adding blame to an entire group for the acts of one person.

snickerdoodle

You're right. When it comes to modern terrorism in the world today we should look at groups other than Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.

Absolutely no profiling allowed!

http://createarms.blogspot.com/2009/09/absolutely-no-profiling.html

rides on farts

that's like the most retarded blog ive ever seen in my life

S.D.

Also, why don't you Follow Ms. Malkin's example and call for Internment?

C'mon, you can do it.

grandzu

So the group of terrorist this guy was recruited, trained, and involved with was the US Army.

jaycjay

His name and whatever that might imply aside, I'm surprised to hear that he's a Major. Usually the violent acts against the services from those within come from lower enlisted ranks.

Spirit of 76

The CounterTerrorist Unit said they have "no word" yet on whether this incident was terrorism-related. - ABC News

Wait, they have CTU in on this? Jack Bauer is going to kick some butt tonight!

To the complainers: chill out. I don't think Gothamist has a hard limit on the number of stories they can post in a day. This isn't pushing some uber-important NYC story -- like the latest on the Hotel Jane; heaven forbid we miss that -- off the site.

emilydickinson

I think any terrorist incident isn't especially relevant news for New Yorkers. AP confirming 12 dead, 20 wounded, both shooters were soldiers stationed at the base.

emilydickinson

is relevant. Forgive Ye Olde Typo.

FrankMartin

Largest US Army post in the world, probably 100s of NYs there right now.

REALITY CHECK

Well, that's a stretch. There are New Yorkers on every corner of the globe.

FrankMartin

I diagree, and I'm right. So you can log off now.

REALITY CHECK

You are right about Fort Hood being the largest Army post and you are right about lots of New Yorkers being there, but you are wrong about this shooting being about New York. With your logic, Gothamist should post a headline about a new bingo hall opening up in South Florida because there are definitely more than 100 New Yorkers in Boca Raton.

zodak

Fort Hood, TX ≠ nyc

s0me_g0d

You = dick

HOTCUP

no but seriously, this is on every major news network and website, why bother posting on gothamist?

what is this website about, anyway?

bagelman

it's about reposting stories from the nytimes, nypost, brownstoner, gawker, ny1, and local blogs, especially when the story involves murder, graffiti, or bicycles.

in other words, it's a redundant diversion for office drones and the unemployed. that said, the fort hood shooting has no place here.