On this day after a deadly shooting incident on the grounds of Fort Hood, Texas, in which a gunman killed at least three people, wounded 16 and then reportedly killed himself, we'll keep following the news as it develops.
We'll start with some of the morning's headlines and links to accounts about what happened:
-- "Fort Hood Suffers Another Shooting Tragedy." (Morning Edition)
-- "Shooting forces victims of 2009 attack to relive the tragedy." (The Dallas Morning News)
-- "Fort Hood shooting comes less than 5 years after attack." (USA Today)
-- "Shootings frustrate U.S. military efforts to secure bases." (Reuters)
-- "Texan's hearts are once again very heavy." (CNN)
It was around 4 p.m. local time when the gunman reportedly opened fire in one building, got in a vehicle and fired more shots from it, then entered another building where he fired again. Officials say that at least one MP then confronted the gunman in a parking lot.
On Morning Edition, NPR's Tom Bowman said early reports indicate that the MP "drew her weapon," and that the gunman then pulled a handgun from under his shirt, "placed the gun to his head and killed himself."
The local Killeen Daily Herald has more:
"III Corps and Fort Hood commander Lt. Gen. Mark Milley said the shooter used a .45-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, which he'd purchased recently. Milley said the soldier, who arrived at Fort Hood in February from another military installation in Texas, suffered from depression anxiety and other mental heath issues and was in the process of getting a diagnosis for post-traumatic stress disorder."Fort Hood officials did not release the name of the gunman Wednesday night pending notification of next of kin, but a Bell County sheriff's deputy identified him as 34-year-old Spc. Ivan Lopez."About 9:30 p.m., Milley said there was no indication the shooting was related to terrorism, but the investigation would leave nothing 'off the table.'" 'We are not ruling anything out at this time,' he said."
NPR's Bowman adds that Lopez served in Iraq in 2011 and that there is "no indication he was wounded in combat," but that the soldier had apparently "self-reported a traumatic brain injury."
Our colleagues at KUT in Austin add this about those who were wounded:
"The region's only Level 1 trauma center, the Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas has absorbed several of the Fort Hood casualties. The hospital has issued the following statement:" 'We have accepted 9 patients, 8 are currently here and 1 will be arriving shortly at Scott & White Memorial Hospital. We currently have 7 male patients and 1 female patient that we continue to monitor. All patients are in the ICU, 3 are critical condition and 5 are in serious condition.' "
Wednesday brought back awful memories, of course. In November 2009, Army Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 others when he opened fire on the post. Hasan has been convicted and sentenced to death.
Note: As often happens when stories such as this are breaking, details about what occurred will likely change. We'll focus on reports from officials in a position to know about the investigation and news outlets with reliable sources. We'll update as warranted.
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