(CNN) — Eleven people plus a gunman were dead and 31 wounded after the gunman opened fire Thursday on a soldier-processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, officials said.
The gunman was a soldier, and two other soldiers have been detained as suspects, Army Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said.
The slain gunman was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a law enforcement source told CNN. Licensed in Virginia, Hasan was a psychiatrist who previously worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center but more recently was practicing at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, according to professional records.
Ten of the other dead also were soldiers, while the remaining one was a civilian police officer who was working as a contractor on the base, Cone said.
Two of the injured were in “very serious” condition, Fort Hood spokesman Christopher Hogue said.
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More than one shooter may have been involved, Cone said.
“All the casualties took place at the initial incident, that took place at 13:30 [1:30 p.m. CT], at the soldier readiness facility,” Cone said.
The primary shooter had two weapons, both handguns, he said.
“The local police response forces were there relatively quickly and killed the confirmed shooter,” Cone said.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, 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.
A senior officer who was playing golf Thursday about 2.5 miles from the attack said he witnessed the arrest of one of the two surviving suspects.
Shortly after the shooting, military police told him to clear the course, and he saw other MPs surround the building that held the golf carts, he said. He ducked into a nearby house for cover as 30 to 40 cars carrying MPs approached, he said.
A congressional aide said he was on the post to attend a graduation service when he saw a soldier with blood on his uniform near the building where the service was being held, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Greg Schannep, an aide to U.S. Rep. John Carter, said the soldier ran past him and said a man was shooting. He said the soldier appeared to be injured in a shoulder, the American-Statesman reported.
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.”
Officials at Fort Hood, which is the Army’s largest U.S. post, were asking people there to stay away from windows, CNN affiliate KXXV said. The incident took place at the sports dome, now known as the soldier readiness area, the station reported.
The Army has asked the FBI to look into the background of the suspects, Cone said.
On the Fort Hood Web site, the word “closed” is posted with the statement, “Effective immediately, Fort Hood is closed. Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 percent accountability of all personnel.”
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.
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.
Glenn Baeske / The Huntsville TimesMichael Steger, 17, testified in his own defense Wednesday during his trial for reckless murder. HUNTSVILLE, AL — Jurors deliberated for nearly three hours Wednesday but did not reach a verdict in the murder trial of a Huntsville teen accused of killing a 16-year-old girl.
