Email This StoryFort Hood lockdown lifted
Nov. 5, 2009
Jessica Acklen and Nick Dean
Asst. City Editor and News Editor
KILLEEN- There is no longer a declared emergency on the Fort Hood base and the lockdown has been lifted.
According to Leslay Gilmore, public information officer for Killeen ISD, the lock down of the 9 schools on base has been lifted. People are being let off the base, but not onto the base.
Twelve people are dead and 31 are reported injured afterin a shooting at Fort Hood at 1:30 p.m. todaythis afternoon.
There were four total suspects, two of which were released after being held in custody. One suspect remains in custody, and the confirmed shooter, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was shot and killed by a civilian police officer.
The official said Hasan, believed to be in his late 30s, was killed after opening fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Hassan reportedly worked at the Darnell Army Community Hospital in Killeen as a psychiatrist and specialized in traumatic stress. He was promoted to the rank of major in May and was expected to deploy November 28.
Among the fatalities is one civilian police officer.
"We're monitoring news channels and waiting to see what happens. I think it's a little early for knee jerk reactions until we know what's going on,"
Captain of Baylor Police Department Danny Knight said.
Public Relations Officer for Fort Hood, Steve Moore, told The Lariat that shots were fired in the Solider Readiness Processing Center, where soldiers to be deployed are handled and processed in medical and dental in preparation for war.
"There were a variety of units to be deployed today," Moore said.
The FBI is sending agents to the scene, and area school districts were put on lockdown.
The Waco Red Cross is asking people to register with a safe and well Web site on redcross.org.
"This allows family members to register themselves so that other loved ones will know they're OK. We do have trained medical specialists on standby at this point, and, if asked to go down, they are prepared to do that," said Angie McFarland of the Waco Red Cross. "We do have resources available to Fort Hood and the military if needed."
There are reports that the gunmen were clothed in military uniforms before the shootings began, according to the Associated Press.
On the Fort Hood Web site, the word "closed" is posted with the statement, "Effective immediately, Fort Hood is closed. Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 percent accountability of all personnel."
A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was being conducted in an auditorium at the Readiness Center at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman. Greg Schanepp, U.S. Rep. John Carter's regional director in Texas, was representing Carter at the graduation, said John Stone, a spokesman for Carter, whose district includes the Army post.
Schanepp was at the ceremony when a soldier who had been shot in the back came running toward him and alerted him of the shooting, Stone said. The soldier told Schanepp not to go in the direction of the shooter. Stone said he believes Schanepp was in the theater.
Stella Avalous, a 24-year-old Killeen resident, said that her husband, a sergeant, was not allowed to contact her unless it is an emergency.
"They are not allowed to use phones unless it's an emergency," Avalous said.
Avalous learned of the on-base shootings when her employer, an obstetrician/gynecologist, was called in to operate on victims of the shootings.
Victims of the shootings were taken to Scott and White Memorial Hospital, as well as Metroplex Hospital in Killeen and to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Fort Hood.
According to a Scott and White press release at this time, the victims coming to Scott and White were suffering from wounds and all patients are adults.
All Scott & White facilities remain open and Scott & White hospital operations are continuing, though the Emergency Department is not accessible to the public.
President Barack Obama held a press conference around 4 p.m. Thursday to address the tragedies of the day.
"There is no greater honor and responsibilty for me than to make sure that soldiers are safe and provided for," Obama said..
The U.S. Congress had a moment of silence for the victims and their family members at 4:54 p.m.
Cone said all the casualties took place at the base's Soldier Readiness Center where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening.
He says the primary shooter used two handguns in the attack.
Lavender Robinson, a veteran left Fort Hood prior to the shootings. When he arrived at his home he discovered that the shootings were under way.
"I got home and turned the T.V and it was all over the new," Robinson said.
U.S. Representative Chet Edwards represented Fort Hood from 1991 to 2004 and released a statement on the shootings.
"The soldiers and families of Fort Hood have served our nation with distinction and made tremendous sacrifices for all of us so I am heart-broken to learn that this terrible tragedy has occurred," Edwards said in the release.
"My family's thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and loved ones."
The Associated Press and other Lariat staff members contributed to this report.
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