Rampage leaves 13 dead, 30 wounded

An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed at least 13 people and left 30 wounded in the worst mass shooting at a military post in the United States.

The gunman, who was still alive after being shot four times, was identified by law-enforcement authorities as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, who had been in the service since 1995. He was about to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, said U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

Clad in a military uniform and firing an automatic pistol and another weapon, Hasan sprayed bullets inside a crowded medical-processing center for soldiers returning from or about to be sent overseas, authorities said.

The victims, nearly all military personnel but including two civilians, were cut down in clusters. Witnesses told military investigators that medics working at the center tore open the clothing of the dead and wounded to get at the wounds and administer first aid.

As the shooting unfolded, military police and civilian officers of the Department of the Army responded and returned the gunman's fire. Hasan was shot by a first-responder, who was herself wounded.

In the confusion of a day of wild and misleading reports, the major and the officer who shot him were both reported killed in the gunbattle, but both reports were erroneous.

Warning sirens typically used when tornadoes sweep across the plains alerted post residents and visitors to stay indoors, said Caitlin Johnson, an Army wife who was off the post when the shootings occurred. She termed the situation "horrible." The post remained locked down for about five hours.

"My husband's in Iraq," Johnson said. "I'm glad he's not on Fort Hood right now."

Eight hours after the shootings, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, a post spokesmen, said Hasan, whom he described as the sole gunman, had been shot four times, but was hospitalized in stable condition and was not in imminent danger of dying. The Associated Press later reported that authorities said he was on a ventilator and unconscious.

Much about Hasan, a Muslim, was not known, including the motive for the attack.

Officials said the extent of injuries to the wounded varied significantly, with some in critical condition and others slightly wounded.

The rampage recalled other mass shootings in the United States, including 13 killed 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.

President Obama called the shootings "a horrific outburst of violence" and urged Americans to pray for those who were killed and wounded. "It is difficult enough when we lose these men and women in battles overseas," Obama said. "It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."

Authorities said Hasan opened fire on soldiers obtaining medical clearance before and after their deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Three other soldiers, their roles unclear, were taken into custody in connection with the shootings. The office of U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, said they were later released, but a Fort Hood spokesman could not confirm that late Thursday.

Fort Hood, near Killeen and 100 miles south of Dallas-Fort Worth, is the largest active-duty military post in the United States, 340 square miles of training and support facilities and homes, a virtual city for more than 50,000 military personnel and some 150,000 relatives and civilian support personnel. It has been a major center for troops being deployed to or returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The post went into lockdown shortly after the shootings. Gates were closed and barriers put up at all entrance and exit checkpoints, and the military police turned away all but essential personnel.

Cone said the shooting took place about 1:30 p.m., inside what he called a Soldier Readiness Processing Center. The type of weapons used was unclear, although they were characterized as "civilian," and it was not known whether the gunman had reloaded, although it seemed likely, given that 43 people were shot, perhaps more than once.

All the victims were gunned down "in the same area," Cone said.

Investigators said the major's computers, cellphones and papers would be examined, his past investigated and his friends, relatives and military acquaintances would be interviewed to develop a profile of him.

It appeared certain the shootings would generate a new look at questions of security on military posts of all the armed forces in the U.S.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council condemned the shootings as a "heinous incident" and said, "We share the sentiment of our president."

The council added, "Our entire organization extends its heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed as well as those wounded and their loved ones."

The attack happened just down the road from one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. On Oct. 16, 1991, George Hennard smashed his pickup through a Luby's Cafeteria window in Killeen and fired on the lunchtime crowd with a high-powered pistol, killing 22 people and wounding at least 20 others.

Reporting was contributed by Michael Brick from Fort Hood, Texas, Michael Luo from New York, and David Stout from Washington.

Information from The Washington Post and The Associated Press is included in this report.