Breaking News: 7 dead, 12 injured in Fort Hood shooting Video

UPDATED: Twelve people are reported dead and 31 injured at the Army base at Fort Hood, Texas. Three soldiers are suspected in the shooting..

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — A soldier opened fire at a U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday, unleashing a stream of gunfire that left 12 people dead and 31 wounded. Authorities killed the gunman, and apprehended two other soldiers suspected in what appears to be the worst mass shooting at a U.S. military base.

The shooting began around 1:30 p.m., Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said at a news conference. He said all the casualties took place at the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening.

"It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," Cone said.

A law enforcement official identified the shooting suspect as Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. The official said Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s, was killed after opening fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

The official says investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name, or if he changed his name and converted to Islam at some point in his life.

Cone said the soldier used two handguns in the attack. It was not clear if the gunman had stopped to reload.

A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on in an auditorium at the Readiness Center at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.

Greg Schanepp, U.S. Rep. John Carter's regional director in Texas, was representing Carter at the graduation, said John Stone, a spokesman for Carter, whose district includes the Army post.

Schanepp was at the ceremony when a soldier who had been shot in the back came running toward him and alerted him of the shooting, Stone said. The soldier told Schanepp not to go in the direction of the shooter, he said. Stone said he believes Schanepp was in the theater.

The base was locked down after the shootings. The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said.

A spokesman for Fort Bragg said they were not taking additional precautions. "It's business as usual," Public Affairs Officer Jackie Thomas told WRAL News.

The shootings on the Texas military base stirred memories of other recent mass shootings in the United States, including 13 dead at a New York immigrant center in March, 10 killed during a gunman's rampage across Alabama in March and 32 killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Virginia Tech in 2007.

Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down.

"The bottom line for us is that we are increasing security at our gates because the threat hasn't yet been defined, and we're reminding our Marines to be vigilant in their areas of responsibility," said Capt. Rob Dolan, public affairs officer for the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.

In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting "a horrific outburst of violence." He said it's a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil.

"We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident," the commander in chief said. "We are going to stay on this."

Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, the sprawling base is located halfway between Austin and Waco.

About a mile from Fort Hood's east gate, Cynthia Thomas, director of Under the Hood Cafe, a local coffee shop and nonprofit military support center, has been calling soldiers and friends on the post to make sure they're OK.

"It's chaotic," Thomas said, as a SWAT team just drove by. "They're just saying that they're under attack they don't know what's going on. ... The phones are jammed. Everybody is calling family members and friends. Soldiers are running around with M-16s."

Fort Hood officially opened on Sept. 18, 1942, and was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood. It has been continuously used for armored training and is charged with maintaining readiness for combat missions.

Copyright MSNBC 2009

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fal2grace: :) thanks for commenting.

CTOL1: Another Manchurian Candidate ?

fal2grace: interesting you would said that.... it's one of the first thoughts that i had after it happened.

STOPAMERICANEVIL: Just google video: TERRORSTORM

STOPAMERICANEVIL: Just google video: TERRORSTORM

fal2grace: yep, i understand

ReligionKills1: I want to believe Obama has good intentions. From what I've seen, I can't say I'm impressed. Ppl need to be educated about the horrors of Islam spreading like a world cancer. Britain, France, Sweden, & Ireland have already been taken over by Radical Muslims who believe it's their life's mission vowing to kill as many "Infidels" (all non-believers of Islam) as they possibly can. Islam vows rule Britain, Europe, kill off the western civilization and rule the world all in the name of "Allah"

CantMakeAName123: Another reason to hate Islam...you really think a normal person would do that? Hate the person not the religion.

4aaaaa4: Over 5000 of our IRAQ Soldiers labeled 'Killed In Action' But Over 100,000 MORE of our soldiers who died BECAUSE of IRAQ WAR NEVER even get thought about Over 500,000 MORE IRAQ VET were disabled / injured for life Never get thought about And The Fact that IRAQ is a PLANNED war for Corporate Expansion upon the people of IRAQ -NEVER thought about I want all the troops to be brought home now. All who served in IRAQ need to be paid reparations by the Corporations who used them for crime

fal2grace: Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

KUTINOxFUENTES: thanks to obama

14ALL41OK: take notice MORE THAN ONE GUNMEN - MKULTRA BLACK OP just like columbine and VT.... MORE SHOOTERS

fal2grace: thank you for commenting.

PeteD07: @ReligionKills1 Ireland?? hardly!! The others, maybe, but not Ireland. There are muslims, but certainly nothing on the scale as most other european countries. And there is certainly no visible muslim 'movement' going on in Ireland either!

krazy45cat: my first thought was terrorism .Now after seeing the reports of course it was an islamic terrorist murder spree .

ReligionKills1: America grow some balls

tclucke: at least they went after the military instead of innocent people

dvrtmcc: Is this start of the war in USA?

wph1138: not allegedly. why the fuck are we so afraid to tell the truth? I went to the marine air base today in a van and said i was delivering stuff. They did not even look at my ID. we drove right on and no one even looked in our van. We were really working there but had we been not. We could have had our way with out restriction. I couldnt believe it.

fal2grace: that's really slack security.... thanks for the info.

raybl: 9-11 was a false flag ..planned and carried out by the US Military to popularize plans for the Invasion, Destruction, and Taking of IRAQ .! The hijackers were Saudis. They were purchased by the US Military. from thier Saudi allies. the day after 9-11, during the grounding of all air traffic,.. many saudis were were allowed to fly home from Washington The Invasion, Destruction and Taking of Iraq was the main reason the US Military carried out 9-11 + + + + +-

fal2grace: you're right; it was not what it seemed to be... thank you for commenting.

nasem89: Actually what mohammad said there is sensible; would you rather tell someone the truth if it was going to hurt them, or tell a little white lie to cool the waters?

DruidAnthony: 911, 2001 yeah thats inside job too just like my wife being fired from her job just because I have Cancer... So their insurace wont go up wtf freedom are you stupid ppl fighting for...

sadieaugust: All Texans must remember one very important fact that the state of Texas can become it's own country. So, vote to keep Texas from becoming a Muslim country, start campaigning and vote wisely for the Texas gubernatorial election on November 2, 2010. We don't need Farouk Shami, a Palestinian born citizen to become the next Governor of the state of Texas with the power to turn Texas into a Muslim country and the power to turn the Texas border into GAZA strip number two.

Author: fal2grace; Uploaded: Nov 5, 2009; Duration: 3:38; Views: 8579

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