This morning, two officials from Fort Hood — Col. John Rossi and Col. Steve Braverman — held a press conference on the deadly shooting at the Texas Army base yesterday. Here are some key pieces of news:
– Initial findings indicate that there was a single shooter, who was shot and subdued by first responders. They named him as Major Nidal Malik Hasan.
– The number of victims killed is 13, with 28 injured and hospitalized.
– Officials are continuing to focus on three main areas:
1) Care for the wounded: Approximately half of those hospitalized require surgery and all are in stable condition today. Patients are in Darnall Hospital on the base or one of three community hospitals in the area.
2) Security: The post is no longer locked down. Gates were reopened last night. However, the base is still operating at a heightened level of security. Col. Rossi stated, “We are fully confident in the security of this installation.”
3) Casualty assistance efforts: This includes notification of family members and grief counseling.
– Rossi praised the “heroic efforts” of the first responders and civilians on the scene. A day of mourning will be observed on Fort Hood today.
– Condition of the shooter: stable, in one of the civilian hospitals. He remains on a ventilator.
– As for an explanation of the initial announcement that Hasan was dead, Rossi said, “In the heat of the incident there was a lot of confusion … Obviously numerous wounded, some killed, and in the incident it was just confusion. And we had full accountability of him and security instantly after the first responder shot him and escorted him to the hospital. As soon as we found out there was nothing we were failing to provide, it was just a mistake.”
– Rossi would not speculate about motives.
– There was one civilian among the killed. The other 12 were soldiers.
– Reports are that Hasan was wearing his uniform when he committed the shooting.
– The female guard who shot Hasan is in stable condition.
– Witnesses are still being interviewed as they had been all through last night. Rossi said he did not know if Hasan said anything during the attack.
