Fort Hood gunman kills 3 soldiers, then himself
16 wounded in shooting at military post
By Sig Christenson and Kolten Parker | April 2, 2014 | Updated: April 3, 2014 12:39 a.m.
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FORT HOOD — An Iraq war veteran who was recently assigned to Fort Hood opened fire in two buildings on the post Wednesday, killing three soldiers and wounding 16 before he killed himself as he was confronted by a military policewoman.
The motive for the rampage is not yet known, Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, the Fort Hood commander, said at a news conference Wednesday night.
But Milley said the gunman had mental health and behavioral issues and was to undergo analysis for post-traumatic stress. He had not yet been diagnosed with PTSD.
Milley declined to identify the shooter pending notification of his family. [That’s crazy. You show that sort of deference to the families of victims, not the families of murderers.] But U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, identified the shooter as Spec. Ivan Lopez.
The shooting occurred near the site of a 2009 rampage on the post by former Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people inside a deployment center before he was shot and paralyzed by police outside the building.
Hasan, a Muslim who was tried and sentenced to death last summer, had vowed revenge on U.S. [American] soldiers for the deaths of fellow Muslims in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It was the deadliest rampage ever on a U.S. military installation.
Milley said there so far was no indication Wednesday's shootings were related to terrorism. But investigators are not ruling anything out.
In his conference call, McCaul said, "My concern is Fort Hood is becoming a target for potential jihadists."
The sprawling Central Texas post was locked down for about five hours Wednesday afternoon before soldiers and civilians were allowed to leave at 9 p.m.
Residents at the post described a chaotic, noisy, scary scene.
Brooke Chatha, 22, was in the kitchen doing the dishes when she heard alarms sounding.
"Those alarms go off a lot, thought it was just another drill," said Chatha, who lives on the post with her 4-month-old child and her husband, a soldier who works in the post's motor pool.
A friend started texting her, asking if she was OK.
"That's when I started looking up and everything that was going on," she said. That was about 5 p.m.
"It's a little frustrating," she said. Her husband was still at work, and his commanders were talking about not releasing him until 2 a.m., she said.
"He was texting me a little bit (after the shooting), he hasn't texted since, I have no idea if he knows anyone who got hurt," she said.
As she was speaking with the Chronicle, the post's sirens went off again.
She lives by the post's main gate. Normally, toward the end of the day, traffic streams out of the post about 5 p.m.
"Nobody was outside, there was nothing. I was told by a friend not to go outside... there was a helicopter flying right above our house and all you could here [sic] were sirens - and they went on for an hour or two."
“Reopens the pain”
The second mass shooting on the post in five years prompted widespread heartbreak and concern from public officials and families.
"Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families. We know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. Obviously our thoughts and prayers were - are with the entire community," President Barack Obama said in Chicago, where he was attending a fundraiser.
"We're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again. And I don't want to comment on the facts until I know exactly what has happened, but for now, I would just hope that everybody across the country is keeping the families and the community at Fort Hood in our thoughts and in our prayers."
Gov. Rick Perry said that "as Texans, our first priority must be caring for the victims and their families. Fort Hood has proven its resilience before, and will again. Texas will support those efforts in any way we can, with any resources necessary. The thoughts and prayers of all Texans are with everyone affected by this tragedy."
The wounded were taken to the Carl R. Darnall Medical Center on Fort Hood and Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple with a variety of injuries. Some are critical.
10 to 15 minutes
Milley said the gunman, assigned to the 13th Sustainment Command expeditionary unit, entered a building at the 1st Medical Brigade and opened fire with a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson semi-automatic handgun. He quickly left in a vehicle and kept firing, then opened fire again in another building.
He again left in the vehicle and was stopped by military police in a parking lot. Milley said an officer approached him with gun drawn. She was within 20 feet of the gunman when he raised his hands, then grabbed his gun, put it to his head and shot himself.
The entire episode lasted only 10 to 15 minutes, the general said.
"Tonight, Texans' hearts are once again very heavy," said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "The scenes coming from Fort Hood today are sadly too familiar and still too fresh in our memories. No community should have to go through this horrific violence once, let alone twice. I ask that all Americans join Sandy and me in praying for the victims, their families and the entire Fort Hood community."
Little is known about the shooter, but Milley said he served four months in Iraq in 2011. The general said he wasn't wounded in Iraq but "self-reported" a brain injury.
Milley said he was married and lived with his family near the post.
The general said he was not wounded in combat.
Milley said authorities were looking into the gunman's past to learn more about the soldier, including any criminal and psychiatric history, as well as experiences in combat.
He praised the MP who confronted him, "It was clearly heroic, what she did at that moment in time, and she did her job, and she did exactly what we would expect of a United States Army Military Police."
"My reaction was to immediately make sure we had a read on the casualties, immediately secure the site and immediately look for one or more shooters," Milley said. "I wasn't thinking about, 'Not again,' or any of that."
Reporter St. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report.
The military should check his gang tattoos that will give some indication of this Ivan Lopez's aims. (no pun intended)
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