Open Thread – Ft. Hood Tragedy (updated)
It is way to early to come to any conclusions about what happened today at Ft. Hood. What we do know is that 12 are dead – the shooter (MAJ Malik Nidal Hasan – a psychiatrist with the military there), a civilian policeman and 10 soldiers. 31 were wounded. Hasan was a convert to Islam and worked for 6 years at Walter Reed Hospital. It is reported that he received a bad Officer Efficiency Report and was transferred to Ft. Hood. Colleagues say he was a “loner” and against our presence in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He apparently was against being deployed but was scheduled to deploy at the end of the year. He was engaged with the chain of command trying to get the deployment canceled. He used two non-military handguns (9 mm) during his shooting spree.
There are reports of two other suspects in custody but what if any role they had is not known. At this point, they are being said to be held for questioning. (update: AP reports both have now been released, confirmed by Rep. John Carter who represents the district in which Ft. Hood lays. Rumor has it they had tired to stop the shootings.)
UPDATE: Shooter’s cousin says he has always been a muslim, not a convert. Claims Hasan underwent extreme harassment and wanted to get out of the military. His worst nightmare was being deployed. Says family is in total shock. Thinks impending deployment is what triggered this.
UPDATE II: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson says he was shooting people he knew.
UPDATE III: Rep. John Carter says Ft. Hood authorities have taken a 3rd person into custody. He also claims reports of automatic weapons fire at the scene of the shootings.
UPDATE IV: A bit of a shocker – Per Commanding General of Ft. Hood, shooter is alive and in custody.
More updates as they become available.
~McQ