Mass shooting
Updates as I get them at bottom.
At least seven people are dead and 12 wounded in a shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, the base’s public affairs office told NBC News on Thursday.
The official would not give his name nor additional details. It was unknown whether victims are soldiers or civilians. 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.
Update: Shooters reportedly wearing military uniforms.
Started at a Soldier’s Readiness Center.
Update: possible third shooter.
Update:Third shooter confirmed.
Press says “sniper rifles”. CNN says “uzis”
Reports there was some sort of graduation ceremony there.
Update:NBC says possible terrorist attack but not confirmed.
Update:CNN exploring the stressed out troop angle.
Update:Military officials will not say if the shooters are soldiers or not. They do not know.
Chatter about fifth of November, Obama’s one year anniversary. But the latter the was on the fourth.
Update:Reports of M-16s by CNN.
Update:One shooter wounded. Happened at a processing center where people were filling paperwork to go to Iraq.
Update:9 dead.
Update: Fox says not a terror attack. Not sure how they’d know that definitively. But that’s the word.
Update: ATF on the way. Wait. What?
Update: Reports from local affiliate that more gun shots reported near base, possibly soldiers’ residences.
Update: Man in custody is in his 30s or 40s.
Update: FBI guy on Fox says no terrorist nexus. Probably means interview with guy in custody indicates it’s a civilian, contractor, or military guy.
Update: Preliminary reports are usually wrong. So, take the above with a grain of salt.
Also, nothing new being reported.
Press is now no longer using th terms 2-3 shooters but saying multiple shooters. Don’t know if that means there’s speculation of more or if they’re just not sure if it’s 2 – 3.
Update: reports of two in custody, one being an officer.
Update: More reports of more shooting near base.
Update: CNN says 12 dead now
Update: reports one shooter dead.
Update: 12 dead 31 injured.
Reports that two soldiers in custody.
Update: 2 shooters in custody and one dead. Reports that they’re soldiers.
Primary shooter used two handguns
This is culturally important, ladies & gentlemen. In some ways, this is much worse than an attack by foreigners.
Yup.
MSNBC:
KCEN, which quoted a source as saying at least one of the shooters had a high-powered rifle, reported reported that at least four SWAT officers were among those wounded.
Reports that all weapons were handguns. I often wonder why the press even bothers trying to ID guns. Started out with sniper rifles, then uzis, then M16s, and now it’s handguns.
Update: Shooter ID’d: Major Malik Nadal Hasan
November 5th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Just read one of the terrorists is a recent convert to Islam. I don’t care if he was an MD Major, once he converted to Islam and changed his name, that should have been grounds enough for discharge. How hard can that be?
November 5th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
You think we should discharge all Muslims from the Army??? Jesus, ben, that’s nuts.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Seeing as the Koran calls for a permanent state of war between Dar al-Islam (the Muslim faithful) and Dar al-Harb (everyone else) perhaps it’s not really nuts.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Doug, I think the checks would be just as great, if not greater for a psychologist or psychiatrist. I would think would hear classified info during therapy sessions.
Presumably a board of psychologist, psychiatrist and/or doctors hired and promoted this guy … he also, I assume, spent his Army career amoungst psychologist, psychiatrist and doctors, and they noticed nothing strange? Sheesh.
My prayers go out to the families of the victims and to the injured. This is a very sad day.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
That they noticed nothing strange might, and I emphasize that might, mean that he did not suffer a breakdown, but has been planning this since he arrived from Syria at some point after 1990 http://www.vitals.com/doctor/profile/1811199052.
Might is the operative word.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Officers in the medical branches usually don’t need the security clearances that result in deep background investigations. Most times, all they get is a national agency check (NAC), which basically means all they did was check the national criminal databases to see if his name comes up.
The need for background investigations is tied to access to classified material. The higher the access, the deeper the investigation. And as I said, medical officers usually don’t need access to classified material. Regular line officers are a different matter.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Bob, thanks, I stand corrected.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:08 am
Walter, they discharge homosexuals from the military. I don’t think a homosexual has ever done a suicide bombing for gay rights. However the daily news (especially today) is full of muslim suicide killers.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Funny, the first thing I recalled was the soldier who rolled a grenade into the tent where his officers were meeting in Iraq.??
I think this may well be the same type of thing. Not a controlled terrorist attack, but rather, the actions of one true believer in loyalty to his religion (of peace?)
November 6th, 2009 at 2:53 am
I knew plenty of out-of-the-closet lesbians when I was in the army who were not discharged. I also knew some loyal Muslims in the Army who don’t quote the Qu’ran out of context to justify some perverted sense of jihad.
Anyways, I can easily take the Bible out of context in several places and justify terrorist acts. Does that make Christianity a bad religion?
(FYI I am a devout Christian and not a Muslim.)
November 6th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Duh, if you can provide examples of global Christian organizations that do “take the Bible out of context in several places [to] justify terrorist acts” and promotes that view and finances this education and actions, then I will start taking the commonly offered “Islam is no different than Christianity” trope you seem wedded to a bit more seriously.
I know and work with several Muslims and will agree with anyone who says that the vast majority of believers of Islam are good, peaceful, moral folks. But there is a significant number of them who do subscribe to violent jihadist philosophies, and it doesn’t require to large a percentage of a bilion or so folks to add up to a whole peck of trouble.
November 6th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Sure, here’s a good global example:
http://www.aryannationsrevival.org/
from their website:
Our Purpose will be respected as Butler’s commission to every member and every man that ever spoke to him, “Spread the Word”, thus as a revival organization, we will start with the prime directive, Yahweh First, organization second. The Aryan Nations Revival will begin with what we term, a skeleton crew, there are many persons out there that have claims to the Aryan Nations, some legitimate, others false, we have lost count of claimants, and lost concern for rising a mass membership just for the sake of having an organization, our objective is to restore the credibility of the Aryan Nations, this will be done by restoring the prime directive, raising the Priesthood First. The day will come when gatherings and the politics can begin anew, this to us is an interference for our purposes present.
One must set ones house in order first, we begin again with what we were born to be, a Nation of Priests and Rulers.
Without Yahweh’s Laws, and without recognition of Yahweh’s Laws as our guide, all retaliation, resistance and purpose is based upon misguided anger, disarrayed and chaotic bonds, a loosely bound ideology is weakness, bound to fray. These days are over, this is the New Beginning, Under Yahweh, For Yahweh, as Butler would have willed.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
How many known members of the Aryan Nation are there in active duty military service?
Would you agree with discharging any that are found? (I would.)