Breaking: 12 Dead, 31 Wounded in Shooting at Fort Hood
From Reuters:
Twelve people were killed and at least 31 were wounded when a soldier went on a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood U.S. Army base at Fort Hood Texas on Thursday, base commander Lieutenant-General Bob Cone said.
Cone told reporters at the base that the gunman was killed in the attack at the facility, the biggest military base in the world and a prime point of deployment for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Two other soldiers were apprehended as suspects.
Cone said the shooting took place at a “Soldier Readiness Facility” where soldiers preparing for overseas deployment were getting last-minute medical checkups. The shooting took place at about 1:30 p.m. CST.
“The shooter was killed. He was a soldier. We since then have apprehended two additional soldiers that are suspects. There were eyewitness accounts that there may have been more than one shooter,” Cone said .
ABC News is reporting the shooter has been identified as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a convert to Islam:
The suspected gunman was identified by ABC News as Major Nidal Malik Hasan.
The shooter was killed and two other suspects, who are also soldiers, have been apprehended, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone said.
The gunman reportedly used two handguns.
Update (6:15 p.m.): CBS News is reporting that Maj. Hasan, 39, was a a licensed psychiatrist from Silver Spring, Md. He was apparently scheduled to deploy to Iraq and was upset about it.
Update (6:50 p.m.): The Austin American-Statesman is reporting that the two suspects arrested shortly after the shooting have apparently been released. The Statesman also points to an AP report questioning what Hasan’s religion was or whether he was a convert.
Update ( 7:30 p.m.): The guys over at This ain’t Hell have some how gotten their hands on a copy of Hasan’s ORB… Contrary to media reports he’s never been deployed overseas. I guess that blows the PTSD theory out of the water…
Additional updates here…
Related
- Army: 12 dead, 31 hurt in attacks at Fort Hood – Associated Press
- 12 dead Fort Hood shootings – United Press International
Breaking: Senate Stimulus Plan Vote Underway
It’ll be a while before we have the final tally as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid intends to hold the vote open so that Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) can return to Washington and vote later tonight.
Right now it looks like the bill is going to pass there are 57 yes votes with three Democrats (including Brown) left to vote.)
Erstwhile Republicans Arlen Specter, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe have all voted yes.
More to come…
Update (6:52 p.m.): Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) – Aye… They need 2 more reach the 60 votes needed for passage.
Update (8:05 p.m.): It’s all but done… 59 yeas, just waiting on Brown to make it official. I can’t help but think the framers are turning over in their graves.
Breaking: House Democrats Pass Stimulus Package
House Democrats today voted to pass the pork laden so called “Stimulus Plan” without a single Republican vote.
The final tally was 246-183, with 7 Democrats joining all 176 house Republicans in voting no. 1 Democrat voted present.
Update: Here’s a list of the Democrats who voted against the bill:
Bobby Bright, Alabama
Peter DeFazio, Oregon
Parker Griffith, Alabama
Walt Minnick, Idaho
Collin Peterson, Minnesota
Heath Shuler, North Carolina
Gene Taylor, Mississippi
Daniel Lipinski of Illinois was the Democrat who voted present.
The Senate vote is expected at around 5:30pm Eastern.
Breaking News: Senator Judd Gregg Withdraws Nomination for Commerce Secretary
Still Looking for details, but I’m hearing reports that Sen. Judd Gregg (R- New Hampshire) has withdrawn his name from nomination for Commerce Secretary.
Here’s the Via Drudge:
For Immediate Release:
Thursday, February 12, 2009Senator Gregg Statement on His Withdrawal for Consideration of U.S. Commerce Secretary
Sen. Gregg stated, “I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.
“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.
“Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives.
“I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position.
“As we move forward, I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the President’s proposals. This will certainly be a goal of mine.
“Kathy and I also want to specifically thank Governor Lynch and Bonnie Newman for their friendship and assistance during this period. In addition we wish to thank all the people, especially in New Hampshire, who have been so kind and generous in their supportive comments.
“As a further matter of clarification, nothing about the vetting process played any role in this decision. I will continue to represent the people of New Hampshire in the United States Senate.”
Ed Morrissey is spot on:
Wow. This is an embarrassment for Obama, and might imperil the stimulus package, if Gregg has any influence over the waverers. The decision to strip him of authority over the census looks like the last straw, however — as it should have been.
I don’t see any need for analysis Sen. Gregg’s statement lays it out pretty clearly. Frankly, I’m not surprised Gregg decided to bow out I thought it was an odd marrige to start with. The only question is what influence if any will Gregg’s decision have on the waverers.
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