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Aftermath: Fort Hood deadly shooting
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Shooting suspect Nidal Hasan Photo: AFP
More details are surfacing today about the deadly shooting at Ft. Hood Army Base in Texas. Another injured person passed away overnight raising the death toll to 13. The bodies of the victims will be flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for autopsies and forensic tests, a U.S. official confirmed.
Nidal Hasan is in stable condition on a ventilator with a reported four gunshot wounds at a community hospital with military and local police guarding him. In a press conference this morning at Ft. Hood, Army Colonel John Rossi released more details about the shooting. Rossi confirmed the single shooter theory and said the suspect was subdued by an armed officer, Kimberly Munley, who was injured in the exchange of fire, but in stable condition this morning.
Hospital Commander Colonel Steven Braverman confirmed 28 people remain hospitalized from the shooting rampage. Braverman said half of the injured required surgery at Ft. Hood’s Darnell Hospital and three additional community hospitals nearby. "With ricochet fire, he was able to injure that many people," an Army spokesman General Cone noted. Braverman said 200 behavior counselors, including 35 chaplains, have been brought to Ft. Hood to help residents with the grieving process.
At the White House, President Obama continued to offer condolences to families while warning Americans to remain patient as the investigation moves forward. "We don't know all the answers yet. And I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts," Obama said in the Rose Garden Friday.
Colonel Rossi said three areas are being focused on in the aftermath of the shooting. 1. Care for the wounded. 2. Security, Ft. Hood is in a heightened state of security. 3. Casualty assistance: notification is underway for the deceased. Rossi said that Ft. Hood will observe a day of mourning today.
Colonel Rossi said 400 people were in the area where the shooting occurred. “One civilian and 12 soldiers were killed,” Rossi noted about the shooting spree. “Witnesses were still being interviewed all through the night,” Rossi said and based his information on those reports. Rossi also said the chaos of the scene created some confusion about whether the alleged shooter had been killed, as earlier reported. Rossi said the shooting took about 10 minutes, while the whole incident lasted about 30 minutes.
An Internet posting signed with Hasan’s name discusses suicide bombings and drew law enforcement’s attention six months ago. “He was mortified by the idea (of going to Iraq),” a cousin of Hasan said. Braverman confirmed that Hasan had received orders to deploy to Afghanistan. Hasan’s family members say he was harassed by other soldiers for being Muslim. "He had listened to all of that, and he wanted out of the military, and they would not let him leave, even after he offered to repay," an Aunt, Noel Hasan, told the Washington Post.
On the morning of the shooting yesterday, a convenience store owner said Hasan was seen on a surveillance camera dressed in traditional Muslim clothing purchasing his regular coffee and hash browns.
Major Hasan, 39, was born and raised in Virginia. His parents moved to the U.S. from a Palestinian town near Jerusalem. After finishing high school, Hasan joined the U.S. Army which put him through medical school. A local iman said Hasan was quiet but a very religious muslim. Faizul Khan said Hasan “had tried, but failed, to find an equally religious woman to marry.” Khan said Hasan attended daily prayers at a mosque when he worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. "We hardly ever got to discussing politics," Faizul Khan said. "Mostly we were discussing religious matters, nothing too controversial, nothing like an extremist."
The Associated Press reported an unnamed official has said Hasan received a poor performance evaluation from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center before transferring to Fort Hood in July.
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