Breaking: Fort Hood Gunman Alive, in Custody

From Fox News:

A military doctor who reportedly feared an impending war deployment is in custody as the sole suspect in a shooting rampage at the Army’s Fort Hood that left 12 dead and 31 wounded, an Army official said Thursday night.

The news that the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was alive and in stable condition, came as a sudden reversal of early reports that the gunman was among the dead.

Two other soldiers who were taken into custody as possible suspects were released Lt. Gen. Bob Cone told reporters Thursday evening.

A female first responder who shot at Hasan who was previously thought to be dead, was also alive.

The Fox News report goes on to say that Hasan first came to the attention of Federal Officials were apparently still trying to determine if he was the author of those posts and an official investigation had not been opened.

According the Washington Post Hasan was a devout Muslim who attended service regularly:

Hasan attended the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring and was “very devout,” according to Faizul Khan, a former imam at the center. Khan said Hasan attended prayers at least once a day, seven days a week, often in his Army fatigues.

Khan also said Hasan applied to an annual matrimonial seminar that matches Muslims looking for spouses. “I don’t think he ever had a match, because he had too many conditions,” Khan said.

“We never got into details of worldly affairs or politics,” the former imam said of his conversations with Hasan. “Mostly religious questions. But there was nothing extremist in his questions. He never showed any frustration. . . . He never showed any . . . wish for vengeance on anybody.”

I’m not going to speculate on Hasan’s possible motives for a variety of reasons… Suffices to say I’m not buying the media’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder spin. At first blush the circumstantial evidence appears to in very disturbing direction, and it raises a number of questions that need to be answered, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to start jumping to conclusions about Hasan’s motives based on incomplete or inaccurate information. Lets give investigators time do their jobs, I’m sure they’re have answers to all our questions in do course.

Related

• Gunman kills 12 in shooting rampage at Fort Hood base – Reuters
• Local psychiatrist ID’d as Fort Hood gunman worked at Walter Reed – Washington Examiner
• Fort Hood: The largest “Terror act” since 9/11 – Counter terrorism Blog

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• Breaking: 12 Dead, 31 Wounded in Shooting at Fort Hood

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

Flag Day 2009

I can’t think of a better tribute to Old Glory on her 232nd birthday than the incomparable Johnny Cash:

Here’s to Old Glory, long may she wave!

Today is also the 234th birthday of the United States Army.

God Bless America… Go Army.