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The '''Fort Hood shooting''' occurred on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at approximately 1:30 pm ([[Central Time Zone (Americas)|CST]]) at the [[United States Army]] base of [[Fort Hood]], located in [[Texas]]. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an army psychiatrist, allegedly entered the Soldier Readiness Center and opened fire, killing 12 and wounding 31 others before he was shot and seriously injured by local police. Two others were detained but later released without charge.<ref name="CNN"/>
The phrase "'''Fort Hood shooting'''" refers to an armed attack which occurred within a brief span of time on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at [[Fort Hood]], and which resulted in the death or injury of 43 people. At approximately 1:30 pm ([[Central Time Zone (Americas)|local time]]), Major [[Nidal Malik Hasan]], an Army psychiatrist stationed at the [[Killeen, Texas|Killeen]] [[United States Army|U.S.Army]] base, allegedly entered the Soldier Readiness Center and opened fire, killing 12 people and wounding 31 others before he was shot and seriously injured by local police. Two others were detained but later released without charge.<ref name="CNN"/>


==Shootings==
==Shootings==
[[File:TXMap-doton-FortHood.PNG|thumb|180px|[[Killeen, Texas|Killeen]], [[Texas]], the location of the Fort Hood army post]]
[[File:TXMap-doton-FortHood.PNG|thumb|180px|[[Killeen, Texas|Killeen]], [[Texas]], the location of the Fort Hood army post]]


The gunman entered the Soldier Readiness Center complex, which is used to process soliders before and after deployment, at approximately 1:30 pm (CST) and opened fire with two [[handgun]]s on a crowd gathered 30 minutes before a scheduled college graduation ceremony for soldiers and family members.<ref name="MT"/> Twelve people (ten soldiers and two civilians) were killed;<ref name="Reuters" /> 11 people died at the scene and the 12th later in the hospital.<ref name="MSNBC2"/> Thirty-one others were wounded before Hasan was shot at least four times himself by police officers. Contrary to initial reports he was not killed in the incident, and was hospitalized in stable condition.<ref name="CNN"/>
According to news reports, Major Hasan entered the Soldier Readiness Center -- a complex used to process soliders before and after deployment -- at approximately 1:30 pm (CST) and opened fire with two [[handgun]]s on a crowd gathered 30 minutes before a scheduled college graduation ceremony for soldiers and family members.<ref name="MT"/> Twelve people (ten soldiers and two civilians) were killed;<ref name="Reuters" /> 11 people died at the scene and the 12th later in the hospital.<ref name="MSNBC2"/> Thirty-one others were wounded before Hasan was shot at least four times himself by police officers. Contrary to initial reports he was not killed in the incident, and was hospitalized in stable condition.<ref name="CNN"/>


Initially, three soldiers were believed to have been involved in the shooting; two soldiers were initially detained but subsequently released. The [[Fort Hood]] website posted a notice that indicated that the shooting was not a drill. Immediately after the shooting, the base and surrounding areas, including a number of local schools, were locked down with military police and [[SWAT]] teams. The lockdown lasted about five hours and by 7 pm local time was lifted.<ref name="lockdown"/> In addition, [[FBI]] agents were called in from [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] and [[Waco, Texas|Waco]],<ref name=BBC/> and [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] were dispatched.<ref name="Rangers"/> United States President [[Barack Obama]] was briefed on the incident, [[White House Press Secretary|White House press secretary]] [[Robert Gibbs]] told reporters. President Obama later held a press conference about the shooting.<ref name="CNN"/>
Initially, three soldiers were believed to have been involved in the shooting; two soldiers were initially detained but subsequently released. The [[Fort Hood]] website posted a notice that indicated that the shooting was not a drill. Immediately after the shooting, the base and surrounding areas, including a number of local schools, were locked down with military police and [[SWAT]] teams. The lockdown lasted about five hours and by 7 pm local time was lifted.<ref name="lockdown"/> In addition, [[FBI]] agents were called in from [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] and [[Waco, Texas|Waco]],<ref name=BBC/> and [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] were dispatched.<ref name="Rangers"/> United States President [[Barack Obama]] was briefed on the incident, [[White House Press Secretary|White House press secretary]] [[Robert Gibbs]] told reporters. President Obama later held a press conference about the shooting.<ref name="CNN"/>

Revision as of 06:24, 6 November 2009

Fort Hood shooting
LocationFort Hood, Texas
DateNovember 5, 2009
ca. 1:30 pm (CST)
Attack type
Mass murder, Active shooter
Deaths12[1]
Injured31[1]

The phrase "Fort Hood shooting" refers to an armed attack which occurred within a brief span of time on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, and which resulted in the death or injury of 43 people. At approximately 1:30 pm (local time), Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist stationed at the Killeen U.S.Army base, allegedly entered the Soldier Readiness Center and opened fire, killing 12 people and wounding 31 others before he was shot and seriously injured by local police. Two others were detained but later released without charge.[1]

Shootings

Killeen, Texas, the location of the Fort Hood army post

According to news reports, Major Hasan entered the Soldier Readiness Center -- a complex used to process soliders before and after deployment -- at approximately 1:30 pm (CST) and opened fire with two handguns on a crowd gathered 30 minutes before a scheduled college graduation ceremony for soldiers and family members.[2] Twelve people (ten soldiers and two civilians) were killed;[3] 11 people died at the scene and the 12th later in the hospital.[4] Thirty-one others were wounded before Hasan was shot at least four times himself by police officers. Contrary to initial reports he was not killed in the incident, and was hospitalized in stable condition.[1]

Initially, three soldiers were believed to have been involved in the shooting; two soldiers were initially detained but subsequently released. The Fort Hood website posted a notice that indicated that the shooting was not a drill. Immediately after the shooting, the base and surrounding areas, including a number of local schools, were locked down with military police and SWAT teams. The lockdown lasted about five hours and by 7 pm local time was lifted.[5] In addition, FBI agents were called in from Austin and Waco,[6] and Texas Rangers were dispatched.[7] United States President Barack Obama was briefed on the incident, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. President Obama later held a press conference about the shooting.[1]

Hasan

Photograph of Nidal Malik Hasan, taken 2007

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, age 39, was born in Virginia to parents who immigrated to the US from Jordan.[8][9] He served as an army psychiatrist, who had transferred to Fort Hood in July from Washington's Walter Reed Medical Center.[1] Prior to being transferred, he had received a poor performance evaluation.[10] He had special training in shooting.[8]

He joined the army immediately after high school, and in exchange the army paid for him to go to college and medical school.[11] Hasan graduated in 1997 from Virginia Tech, where he was a member of ROTC,[12] with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and in 2003 from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences with a medical degree (M.D.), and later finished his residency as a psychiatrist.[13][9] In 2009, he completed a fellowship in Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry at the Center for Traumatic Stress.[14]

According to Hasan's aunt, he had sought for several years to receive a discharge, due to harassment relating to his religion, Islam. An army spokesman could not confirm the aunt's statement.[15] Hasan had come to the attention of federal authorities at least six months before the attacks because of internet postings he may have made discussing suicide bombings[16] and other threats. However, it remains unclear that he was the author of the posts, and no official investigation was opened.[10]

Hasan was promoted from Captain to Major in May 2009.[14][17] Hasan was about to be deployed, whether to Iraq or Afghanistan is unclear,[18] on November 28. According to Jeff Sadoski, spokesperson of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, "Hasan was upset about his deployment".[9] Hasan's cousin, Nader Hasan, a lawyer in Virginia, said that Nidal Hasan turned against the wars after hearing the stories of those who came back from Afghanistan and Iraq.[19] Noel Hamad said, however, that the family did not know he was being sent to Iraq. "He didn't tell us he was going to deploy," she said.[20]

According to his cousin, Nidal Hasan was a practicing Muslim who had become more devout after the deaths of his parents in 1998 and 2001.[11] However, his cousin does not recall him ever expressing any radical or anti-American views.[11] The cousin added that Hasan had been harassed by his Army colleagues because of his Middle Eastern ethnicity. Said the cousin, "He was dealing with some harassment from his military colleagues. I don’t think he’s ever been disenchanted with the military. It was the harassment. He hired a military attorney to try to have the issue resolved, pay back the government, to get out of the military. He was at the end of trying everything."[21]

According to retired Colonel Terry Lee, "He said maybe Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor. At first we thought he meant help the armed forces, but apparently that wasn't the case. Other times he would make comments we shouldn't be in the war in the first place."[12]

Hasan is single with no children.[22] Early reports stated that Hasan had been shot dead. He survived his gunshot wounds, and was hospitalized.

Victims

Ten of the wounded survivors of the shooting are being treated at Scott & White Memorial Hospital, a Level 2 trauma center in Temple, Texas.[23] All of them had gunshot wounds.[23] Seven more are at Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen.[23] Another wounded victim, a civilian police officer working on the base, who is credited with shooting the suspect, was originally reported to have been killed.[6] Ten of the dead were soldiers, the other two civilians.

Response

Lieutenant General Robert W. Cone, commanding officer of Fort Hood, called the attack "a terrible tragedy, stunning", saying the base community was "absolutely devastated."[24] Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Defense Department called the shooting an "isolated and tragic case."[25] and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "I can pledge that the Department of Defense will do everything in its power to help the Fort Hood community get through these difficult times."[26] The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Carl Levin said "Our hearts go out to the families of the brave Americans who lost their lives in today's senseless violence at Fort Hood, Texas, and to those who were injured"[26] and the shooting was condemned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.[27]

Other military bases increased security in the hours after the shooting.[28][29][30]

Within minutes of the incident becoming public, American politicians, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former president, George W. Bush, came out with statements of support and sympathy for the victims. Obama described the incident as "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence" in a press conference in Washington, D.C. going on to say, "It is difficult enough when we lose these brave men and women abroad, but it is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on U.S. soil." "My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and the families of the fallen," he said. Obama also offered his help to Cone.[1] His statement was preceded by Joe Biden who said "Jill and I join the President and Michelle Obama in expressing our sympathies to the families of the brave soldiers who fell today. We are all praying for those who were wounded and hoping for their full and speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the entire Fort Hood community as they deal with this senseless tragedy",[31] while Bush said he "was saddened to learn of the tragic incident at Fort Hood. Laura Bush and I are keeping the victims and their families in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."[26] Others to make statements included Texas Senators, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, who both issued messages expressing their shock and sympathy at the shooting.[6][32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "12 people, including one suspect were killed in shootings at Fort Hood, Pentagon says". Fort Hood, Texas: CNN. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  2. ^ Gearan, Anne (November 5, 2009). "Army: At least 1 Hood shooter in custody". Military Times. Retrieved November 5, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Baltimore, Chris (November 5, 2009). "Gunman kills 11 in shooting rampage at Fort Hood army base". Houston, Texas: Reuters via Yahoo!. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  4. ^ "Gunman kills 12, wounds 31 at Fort Hood". Washington, D.C.: MSNBC. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  5. ^ "Officials: Fort Hood no longer on lockdown; suspect identified". Statesman.com. Cox Enterprises. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c "Twelve shot dead at US army base". BBC News. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  7. ^ "Perry sends Rangers to help secure Fort Hood". AP Texas News. Houston Chronicle. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  8. ^ a b "McCaul says suspect had special training in shooting, parents hailed from Jordan". Statesman.com. Cox Enterprises. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ a b c Newman, Maria (November 5, 2009). "12 Dead, 31 Wounded in Base Shootings". The New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ a b Lara Jakes (November 5, 2009). "Authorities had concerns about suspect". Associated Press.
  11. ^ a b c James Dao. "Gunman 'Mortified' About Deployment to War". NY Times.
  12. ^ a b "Fort Hood Shooter Feared Impending War Deployment". FoxNews.com. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  13. ^ "License for Nidal Malik Hasan, MD". Virginia Board of Education. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  14. ^ a b "Twelve Soldiers Killed". ABC. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  15. ^ The Washington Post (5 November 2009). "Aunt: Fort Hood shooting suspect asked for discharge". azcentral.com. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  16. ^ "NidalHasan". 20 May 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  17. ^ "Army releases May officer promotions". Military Times. April 22, 2009. Retrieved November 5,2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Hood shooting suspect was set to deploy". Military Times. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Sources Identify Major as Gunman in Deadly Shooting Rampage at Fort Hood". FoxNews.com. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  20. ^ "Military: Fort Hood suspect is alive". USA Today. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "Major named as Fort Hood shooter". Military Times. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ "Twelve dead, 31 wounded in Fort Hood shootings". Stars and Stripes. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ a b c "Local hospitals treating victims". Statesman.com. Cox Enterprises. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  24. ^ "Fort Hood shootings". Huffington Post. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  25. ^ "Military calls Fort Hood shooting 'isolated' case". MSNBC. November 5, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  26. ^ a b c Leinwand, Donna (November 5, 2009). "Army: 12 dead in attacks at Fort Hood, Texas". USA Today. Retrieved November 6, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Muslim group condemns Hood shootings". Washington, D.C.: Military Times, from Associated Press. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  28. ^ myFOX New York (5 November 2009). "Local Forts Increase Security". myfoxny.com. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  29. ^ ABC 4 News (5 November 2009). "Fort Hood shootings: Utah families on base". abc4.com. Retrieved 5 November 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ The Daily Record (5 November 2009). "Picatinny increases security after Fort Hood shooting". dailyrecord.com. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  31. ^ "Staff" (November 5, 2009). "Biden reacts to Hood attack". politico.com. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  32. ^ "Sen. Cornyn Statement On Fort Hood Tragedy". November 6, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
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