Thursday, November 5, 2009

Fort Hood Tragedy

CNN is reporting 7 dead, 20 wounded at the army base in Fort Hood, Texas. Base is on lockdown, one shooter in custody, one cornered on the base. No ID on the shooter(s?) or the victims at this point.

More as it develops, as they say.

[UPDATE 3:55 PM] MSNBC has more:
KCEN reported that a policeman was among those shot.
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KCEN in Waco reported that the second suspect may be holed up in a building on the post.

Greg Schannep, an aide to U.S. Rep. John Carter, told the Austin American-Statesman that he was on the Army post to attend a graduation service. He said that as he neared the entrance of a building where the service was being held, a soldier with blood on his uniform ran past him and said a man was shooting.

Schannep told the newspaper that the shootings appeared to have occurred in a complex near a theater where the service was scheduled. He was with the injured soldier, who he said appeared to have been struck in the shoulder but did not have life-threatening injuries.

According to unconfirmed reports, one of the shooters was being surrounded by police in the 42006 building on Fort Hood. That source told KCEN the shooter has a high-powered rifle.

This is rapidly turning into one of those not good days.

[UPDATE 4:07 PM] Josh Marshall is hearing that both the victims and the assailants are all military.

[UPDATE 4:23 PM] What Atrios said:
When your first reaction to tragic events is to consider how they might support your politics, it's time to go for a nice long walk.
He's nicer than I am, looking over some of the other blogs chasing this story.

[UPDATE 4:52 PM] Nine dead now, four of the wounded were SWAT officers called in, both suspects are in custody.

[UPDATE 5:04 PM] 11 dead, including one of the now 3 gunmen, the other two in custody.

[UPDATE 5:18 PM] MSNBC is now reporting that 12 are dead, 31 injured, and all three gunmen were in fact U.S. soldiers. I'm not sure which is more depressing, that this was done to our soldiers or done by them.

[UPDATE 5:31 PM] ABC News is reporting one of the gunmen has been identified as a Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. Here's where things get truly ugly.

[UPDATE 6:43 PM] Maj. Hasan was apparently an Army psychiatrist. Good lord. And on this day I find myself agreeing with all people, Larry Johnson.
The murder and wounding of more than forty soldiers is bad enough. If a cell of muslim extremists have infiltrated the U.S. Army then this is going to cause some major blow back throughout the military. Muslim officers and enlisted personnel will fall under suspicion. Most of this will be unfair and unwarranted. But human nature is what it is and the suspicion engendered by this kind of act will reverbrate for some time and probably hurt our ability to do a better job on winning hearts and minds overseas when there is such distrust in the ranks.
What the hell motivates an Army psychiatrist to go on a rampage like this?

11 comments:

  1. Today is the 5th of Nov,Guy Fawkes day.Crazy ass Bachmann march on the congress talking about bringing it down and now this.

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  2. If you follow the daily - sometimes hourly - iraq and afghanistan casualty notices from DoD as I do, you'll notice that Fort Hood has taken it in the neck. I haven't counted, and Fort Drum and Fort Lewis are way up there, too, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Fort Hood has by far the largest number of casualties since 2001.

    It's the HQ for U.S. Armor - tanks - and ground-pounders.

    However you feel about the wars, or the military, this is a terrific blow to a place that's taken more than its share in the past few years.

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  3. I think it had nothing to do with Guy Fawkes Day and everything to do with the fact the base was having a graduation ceremony this afternoon.

    What kind of person does this?

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  4. Untreated PTSD she be a byatch.

    add Fort Carson Colorado to the list of posts that have suffered horrendous personnel losses. Fort Drum New York has to be at the top. Those poor bastards have been taking it in the shorts in BOTH Iraq and Afghan.

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  5. [UPDATE 5:31 PM] ABC News is reporting one of the gunmen has been identified as a Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. Here's where things gets truly ugly.

    oh without a doubt. i was hoping it was a cadre of reich wing white supremacists but looks like no such luck. the loonies will have a FIELD DAY with this. jeebus. better duck and cover, boys. there will be incoming.

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  6. Fort Hood officially opened on Sept. 18, 1942, and was named in honor of Gen. John Bell Hood.

    btw that Major Hasan was gunned down but two others are in custody but no mention of names / race / religious background / ethnicity etc given.

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  7. I am personally acquainted with an Army psychiatrist, and can verify that they are merely human.

    He spent his days trying to help soldiers work through their combat-induced PTSD, some of whom probably verbally attacked him because of his name. Then he finds out he is about to be deployed to Iraq.

    No excuses for what he did, but his profession didn't protect him. Psychiatrists are no less susceptible to breaking from unbearable stress than anyone else is.

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  8. 12 KIA and 31 WIA - that is some pretty good shooting by a medical type ( psychiatrist ) with a pair of HAND GUNS / SIDE ARMS !!!

    on the 12 KIA and 31 WIA - that is a week in Afghan and used to be a week in Iraq.

    that is your perspective for the day.

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  9. Shooting is second in a little more than a year at Fort Hood

    http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2009/11/05/shooting_is_second_in_a_little.html

    Another shooting occurred at the post Sept. 8, 2008. In that incident, Spc. Jody Michael Wirawan, 22, of Eagle River, Ala., who was scheduled to soon be discharged, fatally shot 1st Lt. Robert Bartlett Fletcher, 24, of Jensen Beach, Fla. When Killeen police arrived, they fired shots at Wirawan. He responded by shooting himself, Fort Hood officials told The Associated Press at the time.

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  10. after reading all of the news accounts blahblahbalh the only question that i have is "Why is the usa STILL sending ANY troops WHATSOEVER TO Iraq IF the usa is being TRUTHFUL about GETTING THE F*** OUT OF THAT COUNTRY AND LEAVING THE OIL BEHIND" ???????

    wanna know HOW to GET OUT of an illegal and War Criminal Occupation ???

    DO NOT SEND ANY MORE OCCUPATION TROOPS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    AND BRING OUT THE SQUATTERS ALREADY THERE !!!!

    THIS IS NOT HARD PEOPLE !!!!

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  11. Zandardad is a counselor himself. I'll have to ask him his opinion on this matter. In the end, we're all human.

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