Fort Hood suspect shouted religious slogan before firing 13 die, 28 in stable condition; g
by Anonymous
Fort Hood suspect shouted religious slogan before firing
13 die, 28 in stable condition; gunman still hospitalized
By SCOTT HUDDLESTON and SIG CHRISTENSON
CHRONICLE NEWS SERVICE
Nov. 6, 2009, 7:09AM
FORT HOOD An Army psychiatrist about to be deployed to a combat zone overseas shouted a religious slogan in Arabic before fatally shooting 13 people including 12 soldiers and injuring 28 others at this sprawling Central Texas military post on Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander at Fort Hood, said on NBC's Today Show that witnesses heard Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan shout "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire. The phrase means "God is great!" in Arabic.
The death toll rose by one overnight when one of the wounded died. Today, Col. John Rossi said all the wounded were in stable condition, including the suspect and the policewoman who shot him.
Identities of the dead and wounded were not released this morning as notification of family members continued, Rossi said.
Hasan is accused of attacking his fellow soldiers about 1:30 p.m. at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where troops waited to see doctors as they prepared to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan or return from combat. Armed with two pistols, he shot more than 40 people before military police and civilian police officers responded, officials said. He was wounded by a civilian policewoman, who was injured in the exchange, police said.
The assault lasted about 10 minutes, Rossi said.
Hasan's motives were unclear, and early on Thursday, he showed no signs of worry or stress when he stopped at 7-Eleven for his daily breakfast of hash browns, said Jeannie Strickland, the store's manager.
He came in (Thursday) morning just like normal, she said.
However, surveillance video showed he was wearing religious attire rather than typical civilian or medical clothing. Strickland said that was unusual and she asked him about it, but he replied that he did that sometimes.
A few hours later, officials said, the Virginia native began his rampage on the post. Fort Hood, near Killeen, is the largest active duty post in the United States, with 340 square miles of facilities and homes. More than 50,000 military personnel and about 27,000 family members and civilian support personnel live and work there.
Calling it a terrible tragedy, Cone, the post commander, said officials believe the evidence indicates it was a single shooter.
Cone did not speculate on a motive, but the Army released a statement saying the shootings didn't appear to be an act of political terrorism. Two others were questioned and later released.
Postings drew attention
Federal law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.
One of the Web posts that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.
To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause, said the Internet posting. Scholars have paralled (sic) this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers.
The officials say Hasan appeared to have made the postings, but they are still trying to confirm that he was the author. They say an official investigation was not opened.
Killeen police officials late Thursday said their officers were at Nidal's apartment on the outskirts of Fort Hood.
We do have officers up there assisting the federal agents, said Killeen police spokeswoman Carroll Smith. Smith also said that the department's SWAT officers were sent to the apartment.
In Fort Hood, Maria Treviņo, who works on the post at Carl R. Darnall Medical Center, said she was on the phone with a woman who was at the readiness center when the shots erupted. Treviņo said she heard screaming and gunshots before she hung up to get help.
They just started screaming, Don't let him in, don't let him in, they're shooting at us,' she said. I pray they didn't get hurt. It was horrible. We're still scared over here.
Treviņo said that soon after the call, bloodied victims began arriving at the hospital, which was on lockdown.
The post, too, was on lockdown for several hours as authorities combed the scene and collected evidence. An online message at 3:06 p.m. from a person who lives on Fort Hood said she was locked in my post housing. scared. don't know where the shooters are. A few minutes later, the sender, whose My-Space page indicates she is the wife of a soldier, wrote, All I hear are sirens telling us to stay indoors. can't hear any gunfire.
Schools locked down
Immediately after the mass shooting, seven elementary and two middle schools on Fort Hood also were locked down, said Killeen ISD spokeswoman Leslie Gilmore. Most of the elementary schools have after-school programs, she said, so children remained on those campuses. No buses were going in or out.
C'Lina Sabillon, a Killeen teacher and wife of a soldier at Fort Hood, said everyone in Killeen was on edge. She spoke briefly to her husband, Staff Sgt. Jorge Sabillon, who said he was OK but was still on the post and had to get off the phone.
If he had said, I'll be fine,' then I'd feel better, she said. But I'm worried about my husband, and I'm worried about my students. A lot of them have parents in the military.
Civilian vehicles began leaving the post shortly after 5 p.m., and the lockdown was lifted a short time later.
Sharon Pinto, a postal clerk and office worker at a grocery near Fort Hood, waited to hear back from her daughter about her son-in-law, a captain who recently returned from a tour of Afghanistan.
She said she'd call me back and let me know, said Pinto. Nearly three hours after the shooting, she hadn't heard back.
At her store and several others, rumors were flying in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
Everybody's on their cell phones talking, said Pinto, who first heard about the shooting from a customer.
Effect on Killeen
Killeen depends on the post for its economic survival. It's a city where everyone seems in some way associated with the Army.
Rheaven Zarb said she was struck by the irony that soldiers returning from combat might have been among the casualties.
Some of these soldiers go to Iraq and survive it, and they come back here and get shot on base. You are supposed to be safe on base, said Zarb, whose mother works at the post.
The shootings will leave nearby civilians feeling less secure, one man said.
It's going to affect us all. It's putting people on edge. It's putting police on edge, said Killeen resident Halo Perez.
A Fort Hood soldier climbing into his truck in Killeen lamented that the shootings would put a negative spotlight on the military.
The Army is a great thing and this is going to make us all look bad, said the soldier, who identified himself only as T.