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Outside the Beltway

Breaking: Shootings at Fort Hood (Updated)

Dave Schuler
21

Seven people are reported to have been killed and twenty injured in a shooting at Fort Hood in Texas:

At least seven people are dead and 20 wounded in a mass shooting Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, and at least one suspect is believed to be holed up in a building and shooting at SWAT team members, NBC News and affiliate KCEN reported.

It was unknown whether the victims were all soldiers or civilians at Fort Hood, one of the largest military complexes in the world.

One gunman was reportedly in custody and another was on the loose, NBC News said. A third shooter may be involved, according to NBC News affiliate KCEN in Waco, which said the person was holed up in building 42006 on the base and had opened fire on SWAT team members. KCEN quoted a source as saying the shooter had a high-powered rifle.

Not a great deal more is known at this time. It is being said that the shooters wore military uniforms but it’s not known whether they were military personnel. Live coverage is currently saying that two shooters have been apprehended.

UPDATE

Sources on the post are being quoted as saying that the number of confirmed dead is 9 and the wounded as many as 30.

UPDATE 2

Gen. Bob Cone, commanding general at Fort Hood, has just made a statement. He said that the shooter was a soldier and has been killed; and that there are also two other suspects. 12 are dead and 31 are wounded. A civilian police officer is among the dead.

UPDATE 3

ABC News is reporting that the shooter has been identified as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist.

UPDATE 4

ABC News is now reporting that Maj. Hasan survived the gunfight and is in custody:

The shooter was initially reported to have been killed, but Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone told a late night news conference that the suspect was wounded and in custody. Cone would not say what Hasan’s medical condition was, but said the suspect was not in danger of dying.

Hasan is not talking to authorities, said Cone.

The officer emphasized that there was only one gunman. Two other soldiers were taken into custody, but were later released.

Hasan allegedly opened fire and killed 12 people on the post before he was shot several times. Among the wounded was a female police officer who exchanged gunfire with Hasan and shot the suspect.

The female police officer also survived the shooting, said Cone.

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21 responses to “Breaking: Shootings at Fort Hood (Updated)”

  1. Matt Avatar
    Matt

    My mom was finally able to go home from work at the Metroplex hospital near base. The OR is winding down so they started sending people home. The number she gave me a couple an hour and half ago was 12 dead and 30 something wounded which seems to be what the news is reporting now.

  2. Mithras Avatar
    Mithras

    13 dead now. Another victim died at the hospital.

  3. Tlaloc Avatar
    Tlaloc

    ABC News is reporting that the shooter has been identified as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist.

    Brace for wingnuttery.

  4. Dave Schuler Avatar
    Dave Schuler

    Maybe. My preliminary conjectures would be about the strain that the protracted conflicts place on mental health professionals.

  5. floyd Avatar
    floyd

    “Brace for wingnuttery.”

    ARRGHHHH!! Too late!!

  6. Bill Quick Avatar
    Bill Quick

    The reflexive rejection of any possible connection to Islam on the part of commenters is just as irrational as automatic assumptions of involvement.

    However, re: “wingnuttery,” if that is how such suspicions are being rejected, looks a bit threadbare in the face of reports that Islam is at the core of the shooter’s motivations.

  7. Michael Reynolds Avatar
    Michael Reynolds

    Shrinks.

  8. steve Avatar
    steve

    “he face of reports that Islam is at the core of the shooter’s motivations.”

    I thought the shooter was not talking? Please link these reports if they are anything other than conjecture.

    Steve

  9. Bill Quick Avatar
    Bill Quick

    Please link these reports if they are anything other than conjecture.

    Allahpundit.

  10. Tlaloc Avatar
    Tlaloc

    not wingnuttery: “the shooter may have been a terrorist motivated by radical islamic beliefs.”

    wingnuttery: “we’re in an existential war with Islam, time to turn Iran into glass.”

    Michelle Bachmann wingnuttery: “CAIR and FEMA are building concentration camps with illegal immigrant labor and gay supremacist guards to contain christian patriots. Pregnancy and abortions will both be mandatory.”

    I hope that clears things up.

  11. Herb Avatar
    Herb

    Thanks, Dave, for using the word “gun fight” to describe the circumstances leading to this asshole’s wounding and capture.

    It’s…refreshing to see something described as it is.

  12. sam Avatar
    sam

    Please link these reports if they are anything other than conjecture.

    Allahpundit.

    Mr. Pudnit’s blog entry begins:

    No word yet on motive, but the fact that at least three gunmen are involved already has Shuster and Miklaszewski mentioning similarities to the Fort Dix Six plot on MSNBC. Seven dead, 12 wounded so far. Supposedly two of the gunmen are still at large and one has fired shots at the SWAT team on the scene.

    Uh, the “fact” ain’t a fact at all. All his “updates” look like bullshit, too.

  13. Herb Avatar
    Herb

    I’m with Sam…I clicked over to the Allahpundit page and it’s little more than a list of contradictory updates. I mean, it’s nice of him to warn us to take the stuff he’s linking to with a “grain of salt,” but it’s not exactly helpful.

    Why go see Allahpundit’s CNN cover band, when you can go see CNN in concert instead?

  14. Wayne Avatar
    Wayne

    Here are some comments from one of his colleague

    http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=11337544&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/

  15. odograph Avatar
    odograph

    When I heard the Major’s name, I figured it was probably an Islamist incident. That saddened me on a number of levels.

    We don’t really need this, if it is proof that the melting pot is weaker than the Jihad belief. It complicates everything.

    Of course, this is America, and in the last 200 years just about every type of person there is has “gone Postal” once or twice. Even friendly mailmen have done it, and gained the iconic naming.

  16. Triumph Avatar
    Triumph

    This is the second domestic terror attack since B. Hussein became “President.”

    If he wasn’t spending so much time trying to socialize Medicare and playing basketball with Stevie Wonder he might have a better handle on this.

    But, then again, the fact that he was born in a Muslim country means that he doesn’t give a damn about America anyway.

  17. PD Shaw Avatar
    PD Shaw

    From today’s news:

    At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

    LINK

    Whether intentionally or not, he is offering a common religious interpretation of jihadists. Islamic law is very clear that suicide is forbidden. Muslim countries have the lowest suicide rates in the world and we were all surprised that the murderer was taken alive.

    Suicide bombing is a recent innovation of contemporary radical Muslims; it’s roots are thin and largely based upon word-play in that what is offensive becomes defensive, what is an act of despair becomes an act of courage.

  18. Tlaloc Avatar
    Tlaloc

    it’s roots are thin and largely based upon word-play

    But then again that describes all organized religion…

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