A Virginia Tech graduate is accused of killing 13 and wounding 31 at Fort Hood, Texas.
The Collegiate Times has confirmed through the university’s alumni database that Nidal Malik Hasan graduated from Tech in 1995 with a degree in biochemistry and nutrition.
According to Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the base commander, Hasan is in stable condition and in custody.
Military authorities said in a press conference this evening that Hasan, 39, was shot by military police after opening fire in the Texas U.S. Army base.
The identities of the dead or wounded were not released.
“We will bring in the expertise necessary to properly investigate this case,” Cone said at the press conference. He refused to speculate on whether the shootings were random or targeted.
The Fort Hood shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. CST yesterday at a personnel and medical processing center, when Hasan allegedly opened fire with two weapons on soldiers receiving medical checkups while preparing to be deployed overseas.
Hasan used two firearms during the attack, Cone said.
A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses during their deployment was going on in an auditorium at the Readiness Center at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.
A public affairs officer at the base said sirens sounded on the base to alert all personnel to remain where they were. A scrolling notice on the base’s Web site declared, “Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 percent accountability of all personnel. This is not a drill. It is an emergency situation.”
Cone described the shootings as occurring between two facilities, in “a large waiting area.”
“I have to describe this as a very enclosed area. That’s why I think you get that large number of casualties,” Cone said.
Cone said all casualties were military personnel.
“It’s a terrible tragedy. It’s stunning,” Cone said.
Cone said the quick response from the soldiers and their training in first aid helped avoid an even greater loss of lives.
“Thanks to the quick reaction of our soldiers they were able to close off the doors,” Cone said. “As horrible as this was, I think it could have been much worse. God bless these soldiers.”
In a 1994 article in the Roanoke Times, Hasan, raised in the Islamic faith, was listed as a native of Vinton, Va., and was named to the dean’s list.
Fox News questioned Hasan’s cousin, Nader Hasan, regarding the suspect’s religious beliefs. The cousin said Hasan was Muslim, but had never voiced any radical or anti-American beliefs.
Student Muslim leaders on campus were quick to denounce the shootings and rule out religion as a legitimate factor.
“Virginia Tech is a very close knit community, we’re all there for each other,” said Asif Akhtar, president of Tech’s Muslim Students’ Association. “That’s not our religion, that’s not our culture (to commit violent crimes) ... it just happens to be that some Muslims do act this way.”
“I find the attack inhumane and uncalled for,” said Hazima Javaid, last year’s MSA president. “No religion permits something like this; in Islam it’s wrong to kill just an ant. It’s wrong and very sad that it happened.
“Hopefully everybody’s negativity won’t be pointed at Muslims,” Javaid added. “Islam doesn’t teach to murder people or do inhumane acts. Innocent (Muslim) students shouldn’t have to suffer because of somebody else’s actions.”
Several media outlets reported Hasan was a member of the ROTC while at Tech. The Collegiate Times could not reach Rock Roszak and Jerrold Allen, of the corps of cadets, becuase they were attending a ceremony in Arlington, Va.
When reached by phone, Bill Stringer, the corps’ deputy commandant of cadets, could not confirm that Hasan was a member of the corps.
Virginia medical licensing records indicate Hasan completed training earlier this year in disaster psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. He also served in a residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007.
In Washington, President Barack Obama called the shooting “a horrific outburst of violence.” He said it’s a tragedy to lose a soldier overseas and even more horrifying when they come under fire at an Army base on American soil.
“We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident,” Obama said. “We are going to stay on this.”
Fort Hood, adjacent to the city of Killeen and about 60 miles from Austin, is the largest active duty armored post in the U.S., with about 52,000 troops from the 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division and other units stationed there. Nearly all of its units are currently deployed in Iraq.
by ct news staff
Dave Montgomery and Nancy A. Youssef of McClatchy Newspapers contributed to this report