Terrible day at Fort Hood

[Chris Benvenuto]

Army soldiers shot and killed 12 people and wounded 31 in a rampage at Fort Hood on Thursday, officials said.

 

A military briefing at 4 p.m. said three soldiers fired shots at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center, a complex of several buildings.

 

Most of those killed were also soldiers, according to the briefing by Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the post commander. One shooter was killed and the other two were in custody, he said.

 

Cone said that local police responded relatively quickly and killed one of the shooters. He said he believed that one Fort Hood civilian police officer was among the dead. Fort Hood has contract and military police, he said.

 

"This is a terrible tragedy," Cone said.

 

ABC News identified the dead assailant as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan of Virginia.

 

A defense official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that Hasan was a mental health professional — an Army psychologist or psychiatrist.

 

It was not known whether he was treating people at the base.

 

Officials says 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 the Islamic faith at some point.

 

Cone did not speculate about a motive, but the Army released a statement saying it did not believe the shootings were an act of political terrorism.

 

"Its difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil," President Barack Obama said at a Tribal Nations conference at the Department of the Interior.

 

Obama asked all Americans to keep Fort Hood in their thoughts and prayers.

 

Earlier in the day, there were conflicting reports inside and outside the post on the number of assailants and whether they were all in custody.

 

The base was on lockdown.

 

Fort Hood spokesman Sgt. Tim Volkert said the shooting occurred at 1:30 p.m. "Right now on Fort Hood they’re just telling people to stay at home or to stay put and the homes and day care facilities on post have been locked down as well," Volkert said.

 

Maria Treviño, who works at Carl R. Darnall Medical Center, said she was on the phone with a woman at the processing center when the shooting occurred. She said she heard screaming and gunshots before she hung up to get help.

 

"They just started screaming, ‘Don’t let him in, don’t let him in, they’re shooting at us,’" she said. "I pray they didn’t get hurt. It was horrible. We’re still scared over here."

 

Treviño said soon after the phone call she began to see bloodied victims stumble into the hospital. She said authorities have not let anyone who works at the hospital leave.

 

An online message at 3:06 p.m. from a person who lives on Fort Hood stated she was "locked in my post housing. scared. dont know where the shooters are." A few minutes later, the sender, whose MySpace page indicates she is the wife of a soldier, wrote, "all i hear are sirens telling us to stay indoors. can’t hear any gunfire. the PX is up the road from my house though."

 

Killeen ISD spokeswoman Leslie Gilmore said the district has nine campuses on Fort Hood, including seven elementary schools and two middle schools. All were on lockdown. Most of the elementary schools have after-school programs, so there were still children on those campuses. No buses were going in or out.

 

Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said her agency had received information from an administrator with the district, who also said no Killeen ISD staff or students were involved in the shooting and that both shooters and victims were in uniform.

 

C’Lina Sabillon, a Killeen school teacher and wife of a soldier at Fort Hood, said everyone in Killeen is on pins and needles. She said she just spoke briefly an hour after the shooting with her husband, Staff Sgt. Jorge Sabillon, who said he was OK but was still on the post and had to get off the phone.

 

"If he had said ‘I’ll be fine,’ then I’d feel better," she said. "But I’m worried about my husband, and I’m worried about my students. A lot of them have parents in the military."

 

Sabillon, whose brother, Sgt. Michael Barrera, was killed in Iraq in 2003, said today was an early release day at Eastern Hills Middle School in Killeen, where she works as a sixth-grade reading teacher. The students were released from classes at 1:35 p.m., roughly the same time the shooting occurred.

 

The teachers were supposed to have an administrative meeting in the afternoon. But after the principal announced breaking news that seven had died in a shooting on the post, she let the faculty go home for the day.

 

"She could see by the looks on our faces there our minds were not there," she said. "Everyone here in Killeen has been rushing to go home, and listening to the radio, watching the television and going on the Internet, trying to get information."

 

Sabillon’s mother in San Antonio, Hilda Guardiola, was relieved that her daughter and son-in-law were unhurt. Her niece, also a teacher, was at an elementary school in Killeen that was on lockdown.

 

"They’re not sure when they’re going to let everyone go," Guardiola said.

 

Sharon Pinto, a postal clerk and officer worker at a grocery store about 4 miles from Fort Hood, was still waiting to hear back from her daughter about her son-in-law, a captain who recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan.

 

“She said she’d call me back and let me know,” said Pinto. Two and a half hours after the shooting, she still had not heard back.

 

At her store, and several others, rumors were flying in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

 

“Everybody’s on their cell phones talking,” said Pinto, who first heard about the shooting from a customer.

 

“It’s quite a shock,” she said.

 

Killeen depends on the base for its economic survival. It’s a city where everyone seems in some way associated with the Army.

 

Though he had not yet learned the identity of the suspects, Killeen bicycle shop worker Wes Neveu said the shooting didn’t surprise him — not when soldiers are constantly coming in and out of combat.

 

“Cmon, you send these guys over there, for 13, 16 months, you let them come home for three months, six months, and send them right back,” said Neveu, a veteran himself, who survived a shooting in a mess hall while he was stationed in Germany years ago. “For the past two or three years, all these guys have known is getting shot at or shooting other people.”

 

Pinto agreed.

 

“They’re not getting enough counseling. They’re just throwing them back into society, and I don’t think they’re getting all the help they need. Then they wait six months, and they send him back again,” Pinto said. “I think it’s just too much, too much for the families, too much for the soldiers.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6705518.html

 

I'm in prayer for the victims, the soldiers and their families. What a horrible event for a town that relies so much on the US Army.

[cooksta77]

This is just horrible. I am in disbelief in why a fellow brother as they say would shoot others. My prayers to all of the families involved and to the ones who lost their lives.

Andrew "May all 12 of you Rest In Peace" Iorio

[Nrthwnd]

Sad.

 

Thoughts and healing wishes to the familes and close friends of the victims.

[paintballer]

I knew one of the guys killed. R.i.p guys. Hope those pieces of scum rot in hell for this.

[jamesdillaman]

^ I think that may be a little out of line... or maybe you didn't read the entire story, either way, I don't understand..

 

Anyway,

 

My thoughts are with the families and everyone in the community. I just heard on the BBC that apparently the shooter (who was a fellow soldier) is shot numerous times but still alive in the hospital. That's what BBC America just reported anyway. Up until now I had heard he was killed.

 

-James Dillaman

[ParkTrips]

^ That was a Team America reference

[jamesdillaman]

^ I understand that, but these were three american soldiers. Little is known, One of them was named a Muslim name, but nothing has been said of the other two suspects. I guess I just never think of an American citizen as being called that. I thought all of them in the movie were extremists from other countries. It's been a while since I've seen it, though. I could be wrong.

[paintballer]

^ I think that may be a little out of line... or maybe you didn't read the entire story, either way, I don't understand..

 

Anyway,

 

My thoughts are with the families and everyone in the community. I just heard on the BBC that apparently the shooter (who was a fellow soldier) is shot numerous times but still alive in the hospital. That's what BBC America just reported anyway. Up until now I had heard he was killed.

 

-James Dillaman

 

This guy had a motif. Also, that was not meant to be taken as a racist remark, but one against and Islamic Terrorist, or anyone for the matter. It's a loose term in the corps. I chose my words carefully as to not cause any hurtfulness.

 

It was also confirmed that this was a lone shooter. The other 2 suspects have been released.

[netdvn]

Just my 2 cents...

 

- This guy's a pacifist and strongly opposes war. Yet he joined the military against his parent's wishes I believe before 2000.

- When the war in Iraq broke out, he tried to get out of the military, but wasn't able to.

- He's made it known that he hates the war in Iraq and wants America to pull out.

- For the past few months he posted anti-American comments on blogs, chat rooms, and message boards. He made threats of suicide bombings, shootings etc all over the Internet.

- The military told him he was going to be deployed.

 

Why is this guy still in the military? Why did they give him access to weapons? Why were they deploying him? He not only posted anti-American comments on the Internet, but he stated that he was against the war.

 

I don't get it.

[paintballer]

Why did they give him access to weapons?

 

First of all, the weapons used were a .357 Magnum and a FN Five Seven, not standard issue. He bought these. He was not given them. I believe this guy was a sleeper cell, got rank, then did what he wanted too.

[cedarpointfangirl]

^ I agree, I think he was a sleeper. It really is so scary, you never know if the person next to you is planning the next attack on America.

[Chris Benvenuto]

^ then again, how many sleepers have come to this country and actually enjoyed living here? I mean, not all sleepers pull out their plans to disrupt the US population. Some dropped their plans and started new lives here.

 

Just a thought.

 

BTW guys, if this gets out of control or a flame war occurs. I'm informing a mod ASAP.

[paintballer]

^ I'm not trying to start anything. I posted those comments shortly after it happened, I was pissed. I think we are mature enough not to start flaming each other.

[Chris Benvenuto]

^ my "flame war" statement was referring to anyone in general. Not just you persay

[netdvn]

Why did they give him access to weapons?

 

First of all, the weapons used were a .357 Magnum and a FN Five Seven, not standard issue. He bought these. He was not given them. I believe this guy was a sleeper cell, got rank, then did what he wanted too.

 

What do you mean by "sleeper"? The guy posted anti-American comments online where the world could see, had contacts with Al Quaida, and strongly voiced his opinions against the war as well as America in general. I even heard on the news that people in his own company wouldn't trust him if he were deployed with them.

 

If I lived/worked on base and found out that one of my coworkers was making comments like these, I would be suspicious. Since he posted this online, I'm surprised the military hadn't stepped in and done something about this earlier. But that's just me...

 

Is the government allowed to take private weapons if the person carrying them has the potential to threaten national security?

[Team Thriller]

Is the government allowed to take private weapons if the person carrying them has the potential to threaten national security?

 

Well, everyone has the potential who has a gun.

 

If the government has proof that they are plotting to use it in a bad way, or is carrying it in a public place, then yes.

 

If a normal citizen who keeps a gun in his house, and doesn't have any record or the government has no proof they will use it harmfully, then no.

 

--James