Fort Hood gunman identified
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Suepect in shootings wounded but alive, Army official says
- Source: Gunman identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist
- Senator: Hasan was "upset" about scheduled deployment to Iraq
- Shooting happened in building that is one of last stops before soldiers deploy
(CNN) -- At least one soldier opened fire on a military processing center at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, killing 12 and wounding 31 others, officials at the Army base said.
The gunman, who officials initially said was killed, is wounded but alive, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said.
Cone said that man is believed to be the only shooter. Two other soldiers briefly taken into custody after the incident were later released, a spokesman said.
The gunman, who officials said was wounded by emergency personnel, was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a law enforcement source told CNN.
A graduate of Virginia Tech, Hasan was a psychiatrist who was licensed in Virginia and was practicing at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, according to professional records. Previously, he worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Video: Shooting at U.S. army base
Video: One shooter 'a soldier'
Video: Ft. Hood shooting 'horrifying'
"Timeline: Fatal shootings on U.S. bases"
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.
"I think that there is a lot of investigation going on now into his background and what he was doing that was not known before," Hutchison said.
At least 10 of the dead also were soldiers, Cone said.
The shooter had two weapons, both handguns, Cone said.
Hutchison said she was told that the soldiers at the readiness facility "were filling out paper processing to go to Iraq or Afghanistan," according to CNN affiliate
KXAN in Austin, Texas.
The readiness center is one of the last stops before soldiers deploy. It is also one of the first places a soldier goes upon returning to the United States.
The Army has asked the FBI to look into the background of the suspects, Cone said.
The base reopened Thursday night after being under lockdown for more than five hours.
A witness in a building adjacent to where the shooting happened said soldiers were cutting up their uniforms into homemade bandages as the wounded were brought into the building.
"It was total chaos," the witness said.
A woman who lives on base, about eight blocks from the shooting, said she and her daughter were at home when her husband called and told them to stay inside.
"And I asked him why, what was going on. He said that there was a shooting," said the woman, Nicole, who asked that her last name not be used. She said her husband called her back about 20 minutes later and told her to go upstairs, stay away from doors and windows and keep the doors locked.
"It's just been crazy," she said. "Sirens everywhere."
A soldier who asked not to be identified told CNN that an e-mail went out to all base personnel instructing them not to speak to the media.
President Obama called the shootings "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence." He expressed his condolences for the shooting victims.
"These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk, and at times give, their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis," Obama said. "It's 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."
Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, posted an online appeal for blood as it began receving victims. "Due to the recent events on Fort Hood, we are in URGENT need of ALL blood types," it said.
Fort Hood, with about 40,000 troops, is home to the Army's 1st Cavalry Division and elements of the 4th Infantry Division, as well as the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 13th Corps Support Command. It is located near Killeen, Texas.
The headquarters unit and three brigades of the 1st Cavalry are currently deployed in Iraq.
At least 25,000 people are at Fort Hood on any given day, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon said.
Fort Hood is home to the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome combat stress issues.
In June, Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, told CNN that he was trying to ease the kind of stresses soldiers face. He has pushed for soldiers working a day schedule to return home for dinner by 6 p.m., and required his personal authorization for anyone working weekends. At the time, two soldiers stationed there had committed suicide in 2009 -- a rate well below those of other posts.
Nearby Killeen was the scene of one of the most deadly shootings in American history 18 years ago when George Hennard crashed his truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and began shooting, killing 23 people and wounding 20.
Hennard's spree lasted 14 minutes. He eventually took his own life.
THIRTY years ago, the world was mesmerised by pictures of 52 blindfolded Americans being taken hostage in their embassy in Tehran by Iranian students. This week’s anniversary provided more gripping scenes, as Iranians used the official celebration of that event to take to the streets once again, this time to protest against their own government and their country’s controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose re-election in June they still hotly dispute.
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