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Another Shooting at Fort Hood Military Base

3 April 2014 Last updated at 08:14 GMT
US Army Fort Hood murder-suicide: Soldier kills three
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Lt Gen Mark Milley describes the final moments before the gunman shot himself

A soldier shot dead three colleagues and injured 16 others at the US Army's Fort Hood base in Texas before killing himself, the military says.

US media named the suspect as Ivan Lopez, 34, although his identity has not been officially confirmed.

The gunman had served in Iraq and had mental health problems, officials said.

President Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" over the attack. A gun rampage at the same base in 2009 left 13 soldiers dead and 32 wounded.

Maj Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for that attack.

'Sacrifice'
US military spokesman Lt Gen Mark Milley told reporters that there was so far no indication that Wednesday's shootings were related to terrorism.

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Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" when he heard the news

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Continue reading the main story
Fort Hood
  • Created in 1942 out of 108,000 acres of Texas farming land and initially known as Camp Hood
  • Home to almost 95,000 troops at height of World War Two
  • Eight years after officially opened, Camp Hood became permanent military installation and was renamed Fort Hood
  • One of the largest military installations in the world, with nearly 65,000 soldiers
  • Divided into three sections: the main cantonment, West Fort Hood, and North Fort Hood.
  • Units from the base have been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and US hurricane relief operations
He then shot himself in the head with a .45-calibre semi-automatic pistol, Gen Milley said.

Officials say the weapon had been bought in a local store. Firearms are largely banned at US Army bases, with few soldiers besides military police allowed to carry them.

Mr Obama told reporters in Chicago: "I want to just assure all of us we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."

Mr Obama said Ford Hood had sacrificed so much for freedom.

"We know these families. We know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. Obviously our thoughts and prayers... are with the entire community," he said.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called the shooting a "terrible tragedy".

Daniel Corbin, mayor of nearby Killeen in Texas, told the BBC he felt nearly "indescribable" grief for those involved.

"We pray for them when they are deployed. We try to take care of their families and we're really close as a community to Fort Hood," he said. "You wish you could, you know, give some immediate help, but you can't."

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Maj Hasan was sentenced to death last September over the 2009 rampage.

He claimed he opened fire at the army base to protect Taliban insurgents from US troops who were about to deploy to Afghanistan.

It was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in US history.

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GOD knows , what kind of new drama is that... dont know who get blamed for this home made drama 8-)
 
RIP....unfortunate shootings incidents...we thought they we're coming to an end after the horrific school shooting and now it seems it may make a revival.

I still am pro gun rights though.
 
Mental stress is to blame. The soldiers who come back from duty should be treated for stress, and other mental or emotional disorder and should he helped in any way to let them better integrate into daily life.
 
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