A U.S. soldier opened fire Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, killing at least 11 people and wounding 31 others, military officials said. The gunman was shot to death, and two other soldiers were in custody.
The gunman was identified as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who had been promoted to major in May. Republican Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, said she was informed that the gunman, who was 39 or 40, was about to be deployed to Iraq and was “upset about it.”
Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general of the Army’s III Corps, who briefed President Barack Obama on the shootings, said the gunman used two handguns.
President Barack Obama promised “answers to every single question” about Thursday’s shooting at Fort Hood.
“We don’t yet know all the details,” Obama said. “What we do know is that a number of American soldiers have been killed and even more have been wounded in a horrific outburst of violence.”
Military and local hospital officials said the victims were a mixture of men and women, military and civilian. At least one of those killed was a civilian police officer, Cone said. At least four local SWAT officers were among those wounded, NBC affiliate KCEN-TV of Waco reported.
