Perry outlines state role in Fort Hood shooting investigation

By Dave Montgomery

dmontgomery@star-telegram.com

TEMPLE – The Texas Rangers will assist federal investigators in the Fort Hood shootings, Gov. Rick Perry said Saturday after meeting with wounded victims of Thursday’s rampage.

Perry met with Kimberly Munley, the policewoman credited with stopping the shootings, and other victims still undergoing care at Temple’s Scott and White Memorial Hospital.

At a press conference outside the hospital, Perry called Munley a "classic public servant" who, along with other first responders, helped keep the tragedy from becoming even worse. "There’s no telling how many lives they saved," said Perry.

After "the perpetrator opened fire," Perry said, "the better element of human nature kicked in."

Perry said the Texas Rangers, the state's legendary law enforcement unit that is part of the Department of Public Safety, will be "directly involved" in the investigation, though he acknowledged that federal investigators will take the lead role since the attacks occurred at a federal military installation.

"They will not be the lead but they will support (the investigation) in any way they're asked to," said the Republican governor. He said Rangers were among "the first on the scene" after the attack occurred early Thursday afternoon and quickly began collecting evidence and taking statements from victims and eyewitnesses.

"That’s what they do," Perry said.

Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed after the assailant, identified as Army psychiatrist Malik Nadal Hasan, opened fire with two handguns at a large processing center in a populous section of Fort Hood, one of the world’s largest military installations. Munley, aided by another civilian officer, shot Hasan to halt the attacks. She was wounded in the exchange of gunfire but is reportedly in good condition.

At least 30 were injured in the attack. Of the 10 patients hospitalized at Scott and White, four have been released, said W. Roy Smythe, chairman of surgery at the hospital. Only two patients remain in the intensive care unit and are in "quite stable" condition, he said.

"This is an unusually resilient, brave group of individuals," he said. But at the same time, he also expressed concern about the long-term outlook for some of the shooting victims, even after they are released from the hospital.

"Some of them are out of the woods," he said, "but some of them, their injuries are so severe that only time will tell how they do in the long run.

"There is a possibility that some of these patients will be physically impaired for the rest of their lives, and there's certainly no doubt that many of them will be psychologically impaired for the rest of their lives," he said. "There's no doubt about that."

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