Twelve dead, 31 wounded in Texas military base shooting
Updated at: 0135 PST, Friday, November 06, 2009
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Sami Ibrahim): At least one American soldier went on a shooting rampage Thursday in a sprawling Texas military base killing 11 people and wounding 31 others before being gunned down, army officials said.
Two other soldiers were arrested after the shooting spree and were being held as suspects, said Lieutenant General Bob Cone, commander at Fort Hood, the largest US military base in the world.
The soldier, identified as Major Hassan Malik, opened fire with two handguns in a busy processing center where troops go before being deployed on overseas missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cone told reporters the motive for the attack remained unclear.
"We don't know that right now. Again, this is all under investigation," he stressed; adding he believed the incident was now over.
US President Barack Obama, who had been kept informed of the shooting as the drama was tracked in the White House situation room, denounced the attack as "an horrific outburst of violence."
"My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and with the families of the fallen," Obama said.
"It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil."