President Barack Obama is urging the country to not jump to conclusions after a deadly rampage at Fort Hood Army Post in Texas left 13 dead and 30 wounded. Obama says officials “don’t know all the answers yet” and don’t have all the facts.
In his weekly radio address, Obama says it was, “all the more despicable because of the place where it occurred and the patriots who were its victims.” He has ordered flags at federal buildings be flown at half staff in honor of the victims until Veterans Day.
Military officials say the 39-year-old Army psychiatrist believed to be behind the shooting rampage is alive, but unconscious. Officials had reported Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was killed in the attack.
Sergeant Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer employed by the Army, is the first responder credited with shooting Hasan. Munley was shot in the exchange of gunfire but not before shooting Hasan four times. She remains in stable condition after undergoing two surgeries.
Law enforcement officials say Hasan came to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings. They say the postings equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.
An Army colonel who worked with Hasan says he started showing signs of mental instability and making comments condemning U.S. foreign policy at a public conference. He says Hasan said Muslims should, “stand up and fight against the aggressor,” and recently suggested there should be a suicide bombing in Times Square.
A training director at Walter Reed Medical Center says Hasan had some “difficulties” while he was an intern. Hasan required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients, though those problems have yet to be disclosed. Hasan was at the center pursuing his career in psychiatry.
Investigators have examined Hasan’s home, computer and garbage looking for clues behind the attack. Neighbors say Hasan cleaned out his apartment as if going off to war, even thought he was fighting his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. war.
Authorities say the pistol used by Hasan were not military issue and had been purchased legally, in Killeen, a town nearby the Army post. Authorities say more than 100 rounds were fired during the shooting spree.
A cousin of Hasan says their family is shocked and saddened by the tragedy. Nader Hasan of Falls Church, Va., says he and his family are filled with grief for the families of the victims. He says Hasan was raised in America, and that the Hasan family loves and is proud of the U.S.
In the meantime, Hasan’s Palestinian grandfather is expressing disbelief that his grandson is responsible. Ismail Mustafa Hamad, who lives in the West Bank, says his grandson loves the U.S. and, “America made him what he is.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representitives passed a resolution honoring the victims of the attack. Members passed the resolution authored by Congressman John Carter, who represents the area around Fort Hood, 428-0 . It reads: “The American people share the pain and grief of this tragic loss.”
Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson says that while the suspect was the only one who opened fire, it was not clear if he planned the attack alone. Hutchinson says Army officials are trying to find out, “If there is something more than just one deranged person involved here.”
While investigators say they believe Hasan acted alone, authorities initially detained two soldiers after reports surfaced there was more than one shooter. They were released after it was found they were not involved. The Army Criminal Investigative Division says they have not yet been able to determine a motive.
A Fort Hood official says 23 of those wounded remain hospitalized, with about half of them in intensive care. A pregnant woman, a recent heart attack survivor and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden are among the dead.
The U.S. Army has released the names of the 13 people killed:
Army Private Aaron Nemelka, 19, West Jordan, UT; Francheska Velez, 21, Chicago, IL; Army Specialist Jason Hunt, 22, Tillman, OK; Army Private Michael Pearson, 22, Bolingbrook, IL; Army Private Kham Xiong, 23, St. Paul, MN; Army Specialist Frederick Greene, 29, Mountain City, TN; Army Sergeant Amy Krueger, 29, Kiel, WI; Army Staff Sergeant Justin Decrow, 32, Plymouth, IN; Army Captain Russell Seager, 41, Racine, WI; Army Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, 52, Woodbridge, VA; Army Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman, 55, Havre De Grace, MD; Army reservist John Gaffaney, 56, San Diego, CA; and Army reservist Michael Cahill, 62, Cameron, TN.
The names of the 30 persons wounded have yet to be released by authorities.
Many Islamic leaders say the shootings could pose a tougher test for U.S. Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Muslims nationwide are expressing shock, anger and fear that efforts to erase anti-Islamic stereotypes will be eroded in the wake of the shooting.
One Muslim scholar says the shooter has “in one crazy episode” undermined years of American Muslims’ efforts to become part of the mainstream. Muqtedar Khan, who delivered Congressional testimony on U.S. policy in Afghanistan, says a lot of Muslims work very hard “to make America a better place.”
The confirmation of Hasan’s faith has prompted major Muslim groups and mosques to condemn the killings and praise the service of Muslim Americans in the U.S. military. But some Muslims say they are weary of apologizing for others’ actions.
But one Muslim leader in Texas says he had a bad feeling after speaking with Hasan a couple of times in late summer. The co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, Osman Danquah says he was troubled by conversation’s with Hasan that he recommended rejecting Hasan’s request to become a lay Muslim leader for the post.
Danquah says Hasan regularly attended services at the mosque in his uniform, but never once mentioned any anger toward the Army or indicated any plans of violence but did seem incoherent during one conversation, that Danquah told Hasan, “something’s wrong with you.”
As investigators continue to search for a motive behind the shootings, several hundred people gathered at a stadium on Post where the U.S. Army’s chief chaplain offered prayers for families and victims of the attack. Chaplain Douglas Carver told those at the vigil “remember to keep breathing…keep going.”
Hasan is in a coma after being shot four times, remaining in intensive care at Brooks Army Medical Hospital in San Antonio, TX. Authorities say he’s been taken off his ventilator and officials are waiting for him to wake up so he can be questioned though they’re not sure Hasan will able to talk.
