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Multiple Victims in Ft. Hood Shooting Spree
ANNE GEARAN
AP National Security Writer
WASHINGTON - Seven people were killed and 20 wounded in a pair of shootings Thursday at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, the Army says.
An army spokesman in Washington says the base has been locked down following the shootings. Another official told The Asociated Press that at least one shooter had been caught.
The FBI is sending agents to the scene.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nathan Banks says the first shooting began at about 1:30 p.m. at a personnel and medical processing office. The facility, called a Soldier Rating and Processing center, handles administrative details for soldiers.
Banks says two shooters were apparently involved. There was no immediate word on who they were, nor on identities of the dead.
Banks says the second incident took place at a theater on the sprawling base.
Another Army official identified that site as the Howze Theater.
That official, who requested anonymity to discuss an evolving incident, said a graduation had been scheduled for 2 p.m. at the theater.
The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shootings.
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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AP National Security Writer
WASHINGTON - Seven people were killed and 20 wounded in a pair of shootings Thursday at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, the Army says.
An army spokesman in Washington says the base has been locked down following the shootings. Another official told The Asociated Press that at least one shooter had been caught.
The FBI is sending agents to the scene.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nathan Banks says the first shooting began at about 1:30 p.m. at a personnel and medical processing office. The facility, called a Soldier Rating and Processing center, handles administrative details for soldiers.
Banks says two shooters were apparently involved. There was no immediate word on who they were, nor on identities of the dead.
Banks says the second incident took place at a theater on the sprawling base.
Another Army official identified that site as the Howze Theater.
That official, who requested anonymity to discuss an evolving incident, said a graduation had been scheduled for 2 p.m. at the theater.
The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shootings.
___
Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tags: active shooter, incident command, mass casualty, military, shootings, triage
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by jeffery luker on -
my thoughts are with the family of the men and woman killed today at hood .
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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on -
This is a tragedy. I also received an unofficial report that a paramedic was one of those killed.
I hear of events like this and I always begin doing the "What if this happened here?" exercise. What could we, as a service, do NOW to make sure that we are as ready as we can be in case it happened here.
It's too easy to drift in to the "daily routine" and get complacent. All I can ask you all is - please don't get complacent. Be ready to respond to the big, the bad, and the ugly if it comes to your town.
And be safe out there. The goal is that the patients get great care, AND that every medic goes home alive and intact.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on
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This is a tragedy. I also received an unofficial report that a paramedic was one of those killed.
I hear of events like this and I always begin doing the "What if this happened here?" exercise. What could we, as a service, do NOW to make sure that we are as ready as we can be in case it happened here.
It's too easy to drift in to the "daily routine" and get complacent. All I can ask you all is - please don't get complacent. Be ready to respond to the big, the bad, and the ugly if it comes to your town.
And be safe out there. The goal is that the patients get great care, AND that every medic goes home alive and intact.
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Permalink Reply by K Patrick McDonald on -
Today is a good time, maybe, to reflect on our own mortality, and offer a prayer or two for the families, and maybe thoughts on how we might better prepare ourselves, should we ever face the same eventuality. We already know that this kind of outrage is going to happen again - somewhere. 25 years ago our team entered a McDonalds after just such a massacre, and tried to save kids with gunshot wounds and french fries in their hands. I'm not sure we ever really get over it.
At some point, though, the wise of us will also concern ourselves with the disproportionate amount of violence and suffering caused by errant physicians, as Nidal Malik Hasan certainly is. As professional rescuers, we cannot morally ignore painful truths forever. With focus, we can make a difference. It may well be that Hasan had no warning signs to be picked up on. But I'm betting he had plenty.
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Permalink Reply by TheCannulator on -
All death is sad.
Lets get all the "what to do next time" off our chests. thing is it always happens and we always say it.
I'm just as concerned as to why it happened.
It's so easy to turn this into 'blame the nutbag' and let the system off the hook.
Despite the size and nature of the system it by no means vindicates it's efforts to identify someone in need of help.
It's not just about identifying the 'at risk', but preventing the psycho in all of us from coming out when least wanted. That seems to be the hardest job for any large organisation to completely embrace.
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Permalink Reply by K Patrick McDonald on
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Extremely well said, Cannulator.
TheCannulator said:All death is sad.
Lets get all the "what to do next time" off our chests. thing is it always happens and we always say it.
I'm just as concerned as to why it happened.
It's so easy to turn this into 'blame the nutbag' and let the system off the hook.
Despite the size and nature of the system it by no means vindicates it's efforts to identify someone in need of help.
It's not just about identifying the 'at risk', but preventing the psycho in all of us from coming out when least wanted. That seems to be the hardest job for any large organisation to completely embrace.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on
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I hadn't heard that there's been a lot of killing involving "errant physicians". Have I missed something? It sounds like the Army was well aware that they had a vocal jihadist in their ranks, and chose not to take action. What's that all about?
K Patrick McDonald said:
"Today is a good time, maybe, to reflect on our own mortality, and offer a prayer or two for the families, and maybe thoughts on how we might better prepare ourselves, should we ever face the same eventuality. We already know that this kind of outrage is going to happen again - somewhere. 25 years ago our team entered a McDonalds after just such a massacre, and tried to save kids with gunshot wounds and french fries in their hands. I'm not sure we ever really get over it.
At some point, though, the wise of us will also concern ourselves with the disproportionate amount of violence and suffering caused by errant physicians, as Nidal Malik Hasan certainly is. As professional rescuers, we cannot morally ignore painful truths forever. With focus, we can make a difference. It may well be that Hasan had no warning signs to be picked up on. But I'm betting he had plenty.
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Permalink Reply by blair4630 on -
OK, you have your thread to promote your book....DO NOT use this shooting to hint about your book...DO NOT make these victims thread a link to sneak in your book, that's uncalled for, uncaring, and unprofessional.
K Patrick McDonald said:Today is a good time, maybe, to reflect on our own mortality, and offer a prayer or two for the families, and maybe thoughts on how we might better prepare ourselves, should we ever face the same eventuality. We already know that this kind of outrage is going to happen again - somewhere. 25 years ago our team entered a McDonalds after just such a massacre, and tried to save kids with gunshot wounds and french fries in their hands. I'm not sure we ever really get over it.
At some point, though, the wise of us will also concern ourselves with the disproportionate amount of violence and suffering caused by errant physicians, as Nidal Malik Hasan certainly is. As professional rescuers, we cannot morally ignore painful truths forever. With focus, we can make a difference. It may well be that Hasan had no warning signs to be picked up on. But I'm betting he had plenty.
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Permalink Reply by K Patrick McDonald on
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Skip -
I wish I knew. I know very little about how the military handles these matters. Regarding your first comment, there's an uncomfortable amount of information to be found, and the modern miracle of search engines makes it a relatively simple task.
Skip Kirkwood said:I hadn't heard that there's been a lot of killing involving "errant physicians". Have I missed something? It sounds like the Army was well aware that they had a vocal jihadist in their ranks, and chose not to take action. What's that all about?
K Patrick McDonald said:
"Today is a good time, maybe, to reflect on our own mortality, and offer a prayer or two for the families, and maybe thoughts on how we might better prepare ourselves, should we ever face the same eventuality. We already know that this kind of outrage is going to happen again - somewhere. 25 years ago our team entered a McDonalds after just such a massacre, and tried to save kids with gunshot wounds and french fries in their hands. I'm not sure we ever really get over it.
At some point, though, the wise of us will also concern ourselves with the disproportionate amount of violence and suffering caused by errant physicians, as Nidal Malik Hasan certainly is. As professional rescuers, we cannot morally ignore painful truths forever. With focus, we can make a difference. It may well be that Hasan had no warning signs to be picked up on. But I'm betting he had plenty.
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Permalink Reply by Thomas Durkee on -
This is the Texas that I know:
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on -
Patrick,
Please stop using the Ft. Hood tragedy to shill for your anti-physician book.
That is never appropriate, and especially not now.
Don't waste your time denying what you are doing - your tactics are transparent, they are highly inappropriate, and the timing couldn't possibly be worse.
Are your books' sales really so low that you have to stoop to this?
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