13 Dead, 30 Wounded at Ft. Hood Military Base; Suspect Had Reportedly Complained of Anti-Muslim Bias

Thirteen people were killed at the base and another 30 people were wounded. Military officials have acknowledged that some of the dead may have been killed by friendly fire during a shoot-out after the gunman first starting shooting. Lietenant-General Bob Cone, the base commander at Fort Hood, spoke to reporters last night.

The shooting has been described as the worst mass killing on a US military base in the nation’s history. But it is the second such attack in the past six months. In May five U.S. soldiers were shot dead at a combat stress clinic at Camp Liberty in Iraq. The military arrested Sergeant John Russell after the shooting. A report released last month by Multinational Corps-Iraq faulted the Army for its handling of Russell’s breakdown in the weeks before the shootings.

The shooting on Thursday at Fort Hood occurred at the Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening.

Some details have emerged about Major Nidal Hasan, the suspected shooter. He was born in Virginia and has been in the military since just after high school. For the past six years Hasan had worked as a military psychiatrist, first at Walter Reed and then Fort Hood. He largely worked with soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who were dealing with the mental stress of combat. It has been reported that he was scheduled to soon deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.

On Thursday a relative, Nader Hasan, told news outlets that his cousin had complained of being harassed for being a Muslim and had tried to leave the military.

Qaseem Uqdah, former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who heads the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council.

Aaron Glantz, independent journalist and Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism, the Carter Center. His latest book is The War Comes Home: Washington’s Battle Against America’s Veterans.

Related Links

• Aaron Glantz: "After Fort Hood: Count All the Dead"