Fort Hood briefs: Shooting suspect is critical but stable at Army hospital in San Antonio

Shooting suspect is critical but stable at Army hospital in San Antonio

FORT HOOD — The suspect in Thursday’s shooting spree is in critical but stable condition, an Army spokesman said Sunday. Col. John Rossi told reporters that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is in intensive care at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He was taken off a ventilator Saturday. Hasan, 39, was shot four times after, authorities say, he fired more than 100 rounds from a semiautomatic pistol inside and outside a medical processing center on the Central Texas post. The attack left 12 soldiers and one civilian Army employee dead and more than 30 wounded. — The Associated Press

Senate will investigate whether Army overlooked warning signs, Lieberman says

FORT HOOD — Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that he will begin an investigation into whether the Army missed signs that Hasan had embraced an increasingly extremist view of Islamic ideology. Classmates who participated in a 2007-08 master’s program at a military college said they complained to superiors about Hasan and what they considered to be his anti-American views, which included his giving a presentation that justified suicide bombing and telling classmates that Islamic law trumped the U.S. Constitution. "If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have zero tolerance," Lieberman said on Fox News Sunday. "He should have been gone." Lieberman, I-Conn., is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

— The Associated Press

Casey says Army taking hard look at itself, warns against rushing to conclusions

WASHINGTON — The Army’s chief of staff said Sunday that the Army is taking a hard look at itself to make certain that something like the Fort Hood rampage doesn’t happen again. Gen. George Casey warned against reaching conclusions about motives until investigators have fully explored the attack. Early reports suggest that Hasan, a Muslim, was angry about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and worried about his pending deployment to Afghanistan. Casey says focusing on Hasan’s Islamic roots could "heighten the backlash" against all Muslims in the military.

— The Associated Press

Soldiers worked hard to save suspected gunman, base police officer says

FORT HOOD — A member of Fort Hood’s police unit said soldiers worked diligently to save Hasan’s life. Provost Sgt. Major Marticia Williams said she was preparing for a briefing with other officers when a dispatcher told them that shots had been fired. The police station emptied immediately, Williams said, and officers arrived in minutes. Williams described the shooting scene as chaotic as wounded personnel were carried out of the building. Hasan, the suspect in the shootings, was also being cared for. "It speaks to who we are as soldiers, to work to save his life," she said. — Cox Newspapers

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