Gunmen attack Fort Hood, Texas

[davidbfpo]

Just appeared on the UK news:

Under the sub-headline 'Gunmen have killed seven people and wounded 12 others in a rampage...' One gunman was in custody, but another remained on the loose on the sprawling base in Kileen, Texas, about 60 miles north-east of Austin. The base was on lockdown after it emerged that a second shooter was believed to be armed with a high-powered sniper rifle, according to a report on MSNBC television. Two nearby school districts were also reportedly on lockdown. John Carter, a local congressman, confirmed on MSNBC there had been a shooting at the base, saying the gunfire had erupted during a graduation ceremony.

From:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...a-reports.html

BBC has a slightly different report:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8345713.stm

[jmm99]

from KCEN-TV via MSNBC, is ongoing.

[reed11b]

I am not sure why, but part of me really hopes these guys were not soldiers.

[Entropy]

Just heard the gunmen were soldiers on CNN from a Ft. Hood spokesman.

[SWJED]

One of the suspected gunmen (if there was more than one - two other soldiers are in custody as "suspects") is identified by ABC News as Major Malik Nadal Hasan.

[IntelTrooper]

Originally Posted by Entropy

Just heard the gunmen were soldiers on CNN from a Ft. Hood spokesman.

@#$%*

[stanleywinthrop]

CNN is now saying that the shooter was Maj. Maliq Nadal Hassan. Spelling is just a guess.

[MikeF]

At least 12 dead and 31 wounded

One of my former medics emailed me and asked,

"How can you shoot your fellow brothers.......... I am lost for words sir."

I replied,

"I don't know brother. As I studied the female suicide bombers from Diyala, the emotions of hate, anger, and revenge overtook rational thought, and they just wanted to kill themselves and take as many with them as they could. All we can do right now is take a knee and pray."

That's about all we can do at this point until it's all sorted out.

[slapout9]

NBC evening news just reported he was not only a an officer but he was a Doctor

[MikeF]

He was a psychiatrist.

From one of my FSOs,

He is an army psychiatrist. my wife worked for him on the mental health floor at darnell medical center on post.

[slapout9]

Originally Posted by MikeF

He was a psychiatrist.

From one of my FSOs,

NBC also said he specialized in Combat Stress Disorders?

[MikeF]

Originally Posted by slapout9

NBC also said he specialized in Combat Stress Disorders?

Along with cops and soldiers, the burn out rates for pscyhs dealing with trauma is an astronomical rate. I'll just say this for now until we have time to let it all pass and grieve this tragedy. He probably hit a break point after listening to too many stories. LTG Bob Cone is right. This is an "isolated incident." I won't be suprised if they discover that doc did what he did at the SRC to "save" others from the anguish that he listened to so many others go through.

Either that or ideological reasons that had nothing to do with his job.

I'll be quiet now. That's my .02

[omarali50]

This is shocking on so many levels. First of all just the horror of losing so many good men on a base in their home country. Then the shooter being an officer (OK, not from the fighting arms, but still wearing a uniform). a doctor for god's sake!
And I am sure just the names Fort Hood and Texas have some resonances of their own for a lot of people..
It looks right now like there was just one shooter, and he had some issue with being posted to iraq. I am sure that explains nothing, but that would point to "lone nut goes berserk". On the other hand, if it turns out to have any connection to spontaneous Jihad syndrome or even worse, if it was a planned act by more than one person then we will surely be talking about many other things.
Just shocking.

[slapout9]

Speculation on the motive. Way to early to tell for sure but 3 persons were involved, 2 are in custody, that certainly has the makings of something else besides a rampage killing.
link to analysis by TV commentator.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/...91565#33691565

[Uboat509]

Originally Posted by slapout9

Speculation on the motive. Way to early to tell for sure but 3 persons were involved, 2 are in custody, that certainly has the makings of something else besides a rampage killing.
link to analysis by TV commentator.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/...91565#33691565

Exactly what I was going to say.

SFC W

[Schmedlap]

Special Twitter feed for this specific incident: http://twitter.com/fthoodshootings

[omarali50]

I just heard the two other people have been released. It seems to me that any such event is followed by hours of confusion. I am guessing (hoping?) single gunman.
If 1 or 2 others are involved then its no longer a nutcase on the rampage, its a planned act of terror and in that case my guess would naturally be that they suddenly decided to give their lives for Islam or some such craziness. As a muslim, I hope that is not the case...

[slapout9]

Originally Posted by omarali50

I just heard the two other people have been released. It seems to me that any such event is followed by hours of confusion. I am guessing (hoping?) single gunman.
If 1 or 2 others are involved then its no longer a nutcase on the rampage, its a planned act of terror and in that case my guess would naturally be that they suddenly decided to give their lives for Islam or some such craziness. As a muslim, I hope that is not the case...

It's still way to early to tell. I have seen primary witnesses detained (held in custody) for their own protection and yet when it is reported in the media they are called "suspects" for some reason, when that may not be the case at all. Time will tell.

[MikeF]

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/nadal-mailk...ory?id=9010466

Maj. Nadal Malik Hasan, the suspected shooter in the massacre at Fort Hood, was a psychiatrist at Darnall Army Medical Center on the base, according to records uncovered by ABC News.

Hasan, 39, received his training through the Defense Department's F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md., according to the records.

A military source was quoted by the Air Force Times as saying Hasan had recently been reassigned to Fort Hood from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. In 2009, sources tell ABC News, he completed a fellowship in Disaster and Preventative Psychiatry at the Center for Traumatic Stress there

[slapout9]

Originally Posted by slapout9

Speculation on the motive. Way to early to tell for sure but 3 persons were involved, 2 are in custody, that certainly has the makings of something else besides a rampage killing.
link to analysis by TV commentator.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/...91565#33691565

Further details. The 2 "suspects" have been released. The Major was apparently against the Wars in Iraq and A'stan and wanted out of the Army. He was also taunted by family and friends when he wanted to join the Army after 911.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...est=latestnews