Four people are dead and more than a dozen are wounded after a gunman opened fire Wednesday at Fort Hood, Texas, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said on TV.
The dead include the gunman, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told CNN. The post remained locked down for hours until the all clear was given shortly before 10 p.m. EDT.
A U.S. law enforcement official told the Associated Press that the suspected gunman was believed to be dead from a self-inflicted wound. The Fort Hood Directorate of Emergency Services also reported "a shooter" was dead but the base press center labeled that information unconfirmed.
A hospital in nearby Temple, Texas, had received four patients and was expecting two more who needed immediate surgery, the chief medical officer for Scott and White Memorial Hospital said in a press conference Wednesday evening.
Speaking from Hawaii, Hagel called the shooting a “terrible tragedy” and noted that the scene was still under investigation.
“We know there are casualties — both people killed and injured,” Hagel said.
President Barack Obama said the situation is still fluid but that any shooting is troubling.
“Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago,” he said in Chicago.
Calling for prayers on behalf of the entire Fort Hood community, Obama said the soldiers and families there “have sacrificed so much on behalf of our freedom.
“Many of the people there have been through multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. They served with valor and they served with distinction, and when they’re at their home base, they need to feel safe.”
The Fort Hood military post was the site of a mass shooting in November 2009, when U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at the base, killing 13 and wounding more than 30 people. Hasan was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to death last summer.
A suspect was at one point believed to be in the Medical Brigade Building, local TV station KCEN reported. Hasan’s attack took place in a pre-deployment medical clinic.
Injured personnel are being transported to Carl R. Darnall Medical Center on Fort Hood and other local hospitals, according to the base.
The 1st Cavalry Division reported a shooting on base via their Twitter account before 7 p.m. EDT.
There are 65,000 military and family members living on the base, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
--Chris Carroll contributed to this report
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