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Fort Hood Shooting: 1 Dead, 14 Wounded

Five years ago an Army psychiatrist went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood, and Wednesday another shooting has taken place at the Texas military base. Today one person was killed and 14 wounded and off...
Fort Hood Shooting: 1 Dead, 14 Wounded
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  • Five years ago an Army psychiatrist went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood, and Wednesday another shooting has taken place at the Texas military base.

    Today one person was killed and 14 wounded and officials at the base said the shooter is believed to be dead.

    The details about the number of people hurt came from a senior U.S. defense official who spoke anonymously because the official was not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

    Fort Hood’s Directorate of Emergency Services said it had an initial report that the shooter was dead, but that the report was unconfirmed.

    “There has been a shooting at Fort Hood and injuries are reported. Emergency crews are on the scene. No further details are known at this time,” the base said in a statement.

    President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he was “heartbroken” that another shooting had occurred at the Fort Hood Army base and described the situation there as “fluid.”

    “We are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened,” Obama told reporters in Chicago.

    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called the incident a “terrible tragedy.”

    “We know there are casualties, both people killed and injured,” Hagel told a news conference in Honolulu, where he was meeting with Asian defense ministers.

    “We don’t have all the facts yet. We will get those. It’s still under investigation,” he added.

    The Texas Army base was the scene of a mass shooting in 2009. Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 wounded in what was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in history.

    Nidal Hasan was the shooter who was convicted in the rampage that left 13 dead and 31 wounded; a military jury sentenced him to death in August 2013.

    The death penalty was sought because prosecutors said that Hasan’s murderous rampage at the sprawling military base was a tragic and devastating loss for victims and loved ones.

    Hasan was convicted on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 charges of attempted premeditated murder.

    While Hasan could be the first service member executed by the military since 1961, the appellate process could take years.

    The victim’s family members supported the death sentence.

    “Today a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders,” said Joleen Cahill, whose husband, Michael Cahill, had retired from the military and was working as a civilian employee at Fort Hood. He was killed when he tried to subdue Hasan. “The (jury) gave him justice, and I agree with that justice.”

    Lead prosecutor Col. Mike Mulligan recounted each emotional and powerful story of victims whose lives were cut short.

    “These murderous attacks left enormous carnage: 13 dead, eight widows. One widower. Twelve minor children without a father, 18 parents lost children. Thirty soldiers wounded. One civilian police officer. Their loss, each family — tragic, difficult and different. For some, death was almost instantaneous. So quick, so lethal they never moved from their chair,” Mulligan said.

    The shooter was a Virginia-born Muslim who did not have an attorney, but represented himself. He admitted he was a “soldier of Allah” and that his attack was instigated to protect Muslim insurgents abroad.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

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