Twelve people have been killed and 30 wounded in a shooting spree at a Texas military post in a murderous rampage that officials believe was carried out by an Army psychiatrist who was about to be deployed to Iraq. The gunman, identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was wounded at the scene but was captured alive and was in stable condition, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general of the Army’s III Corps, said at a press conference late Thursday. Defense officials said Hasan, 39, arrived at Fort Hood in July after practicing for six years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, which included a fellowship in disaster and preventive psychiatry. At Walter Reed, Hasan received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. Medical records on file in Virginia, where Hasan was born and was registered to practice, and Maryland, where he received his medical degree at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, revealed no disciplinary actions or formal complaints. Cone said he did not believe the guns used were military weapons. Fort Hood, located just 60 miles north from Austin, is the largest U.S. military installation in the world, and has suffered the greatest number of casualities of all American bases in the war on Iraq.
– The shooter in today's rampage at the Fort Hood Army base has been identified as Major Malik Nadal Hasan. He is described as an Army psychiatrist, 39, who was to be sent to Iraq on Nov. 28, reports ABC. Hasan was reported killed after opening fire at a soldier processing center, killing 11 others and wounding about 30—but since said to be in custody. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says Hasan was "upset" at the prospect of being deployed to Iraq, notes NBC. Two soldiers remain in custody as suspects, and their role, if any, is unclear. Hasan came to the Texas base after 6 years at Walter Reed Army Medical Center—where, a source tells AP, he received a poor performance evaluation. Meanwhile, Josh Marshall writes that "The fact that the primary assailant has an Arabic name and is presumably, though we don't know this yet, of Muslim extraction if not a practicing Muslim, is going to be the focus of attention." But more surprising to Marshall, he adds on Talking Points Memo, is that he's not a young soldier but an Army major.