# Ft. Hood



## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

The story here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/05/texas.fort.hood.shootings/index.html with live coverage on CNN
Lastest information has it that one soldier (wounded but alive) shot and killed 11 people and wounded 31 others.

I'm not sure if any of our members are at or near Ft. Hood, but we hope you're safe!
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people affected by this horrific incident.


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## sem (Oct 27, 2008)

Yes, very tragic. My son was stationed there a few years ago. 

My thoughts and prayers are with all of our service people but those at Ft. Hood especially at this moment.


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

God bless each and every one stationed there, and their families.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

So very sad. My heart goes out to all of the families.


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## crca56 (Dec 20, 2008)

my family lives in killeen, my brother-in-law is ret. army and continues to work civil service on base at ft hood, and my sister and niece work at one of the local hospitals that got some of the wounded.  thank God they are all well.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

It's hard enough to know that your loved ones are being deployed to a danger zone, but to lose them in this senseless manner must make the loss harder to bear.


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## carlobee (Jul 21, 2009)

very tragic.  really sad news


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I just read that the shooter is alive and in stable condition.  He is under guard (I hope heavy guard) in the hospital.  He was shot four times.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> I just read that the shooter is alive and in stable condition. He is under guard (I hope heavy guard) in the hospital. He was shot four times.


Thanks!
I updated the first post.
He may be in stable condition for now, but doing something like this doesn't mean he'll stay that way.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I just saw the same thing on CNN (though I read it first here on KB).  

I feel so bad for the families of the killed and wounded, and for the Ft Hood community.  

Betsy


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)




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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

No words can express how horrible this situation is.
deb


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## heragn (Nov 3, 2009)

I am actually about 6 hours NORTH of Fort Hood, which is in Killeen, Texas.  I'm in Plano


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

All I saw is a bunch of lies.  Obviously the government officials are lying again about what happened.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

kevindorsey said:


> All I saw is a bunch of lies. Obviously the government officials are lying again about what happened.


I think you mean because first they reported the gunman was dead and later that he's alive? I'm very skeptical of early news reports too. (Remembering Pat Tillman's death and how that was reported.)

Incidentally, I just heard about a documentary about Ft. Hood that will be airing on PBS stations starting Sunday (different days/times in each area). Found an article about it in Salon.com and posted it on my facebook page. I think the title has something about tattoos in it. Just can't remember and don't have the page open right now.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

You're right Marti. . . .unfortunately with the 24 hour news cycle, the talking heads feel like they have to say something rather than "we don't know anything yet".  So the speculation starts and, unfortunately, some of it is pretty irresponsible speculation.  I guess it's human nature, though, to want to know what happened and to try to figure things out and draw conclusions . . . .

The important thing to know:  it's a very sad thing for the folks at Fort Hood and for all the families concerned, and, in fact, for all military and their families.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

20/20 is covering this tonight.


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## The Atomic Bookworm (Jul 20, 2009)

kevindorsey said:


> All I saw is a bunch of lies. Obviously the government officials are lying again about what happened.


Why? Because _YOU_ and certain members of the general public refused to believe that soldiers "snap" and want to believe, instead, that it was religiously motivated (what with him being Muslim and all)?*

Here's a concept for you: the guy had the symptoms of someone who was suicidal.... I know because I've been there and because I've been following this story.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan (why yes, 'he' has a name, gasp!) was going to be deployed and he didn't want to be deployed because of problems he has been having with work and personal live... many of them brought upon himself.

The latest piece from The Associated Press says that he was methodically getting rid of stuff... which people who are suicidal do.The fact that he went to, of all places, the base's Food Court (the most crowded part of the base... complete with Military Police) and starts shooting.... yeah, he WANTED to get killed.

But that's not acceptable for you, isn't it?

*Full Disclosure: I work for the US Federal Government and it


Spoiler



pissed me off


 when someone use "the government lies" to cover the fact that they will not accept anything that the government tells them that goes against their own


Spoiler



damned


 personal and political agendas.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

The Atomic Bookworm said:


> Why? Because _YOU_ and certain members of the general public refused to believe that soldiers "snap" and want to believe, instead, that it was religiously motivated (what with him being Muslim and all)?*
> 
> Here's a concept for you: the guy had the symptoms of someone who was suicidal.... I know because I've been there and because I've been following this story.
> 
> ...


In the interest of fairness.....all of the facts you gave would match a religiously motivated suicide attack, at least as well. I think it is just as much jumping to conclusions to say it could not be a jihadist based motivation. Given the frequency of these things in recent years it would be silly to discount the possibility automatically.

Personally, having been a military physician during these wars...I find the "normal guy who snapped due to war pressure" theory pretty unbelievable. He had never deployed before, he would not be on the front lines and he was a trained psychiatrist.

The facts, as we have them now, seem to leave 2 possibilities....he was a "nutcase" or a jihadist. Normal military physicians do not shoot 50 people in cold blood because they got picked for deployment. I deployed twice, so I have some experience 

What this is not, is a case of war stress turning a normal person into a mass murderer, despite what the politically correct will try to spin it as....


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Chad, thanks for that perspective, your point was well-made and obviously came from experience. I thought the below post was typical flame bait that is so common on _other_ internet message boards, but without any substantiation didn't belong here.



kevindorsey said:


> All I saw is a bunch of lies. Obviously the government officials are lying again about what happened.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I agree with Jason, thanks Chad.  But we have to all remember, until we walk in someone elses moccasins -- muslim, budda, jihadist, christian, agnostic, athiest, etc.

The bottom line however, is it was a tragic event for all the families involved and for the US as a nation.  If it had happened somewhere else, it would have been a tragic event for that country and families involved.  We may never know the real story, and that is not what is important, what is important are the survivors and support for them.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

The Atomic Bookworm said:


> The latest piece from The Associated Press says that he was methodically getting rid of stuff... which people who are suicidal do.


Which, the article I read stated, is also typical of soldiers about to be deployed.

Let's focus on the tragedy of so many innocent people being killed or wounded and the grief their families must be feeling. Motivation should be saved until all the facts are in. That probably won't happen until the shooter regains consciousness.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

USA Today reports:

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army officer who went on a murderous shooting spree here Thursday, confessed to his local imam months before that he was conflicted between his devotion to Islam and his allegiance to the U.S. military.

"If soldiers come to me and have problems fighting other Muslims, what do I tell them?" Hasan asked Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, in August.

Hasan also asked about soldiers changing their minds after joining the military and inquired about other members of the congregation. His line of questioning sounded so disjointed, however, that mosque officials suspected he might be a federal agent trying to infiltrate the mosque, Danquah said Saturday.

"I told him, 'There's something wrong with you, and if you're here to gather information, we're not here to do anything against the government. We're here to worship,'" Danquah said.

On Thursday, Hasan jumped on a desk and hollered "Allahu Akbar!" - God is great! - inside Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Center before firing at soldiers and civilians gathered there, military and hospital officials said. 

But one notes that no-one in the Islamic center notified authorities of their concern.

It has been reported elsewhere that the shooter had published similar "conflict" on social network cites.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I agree with Gertie and Dona.

The fact is, no one can really know what's in another person's head. Two people can have extremely similar experiences and react totally differently.  We may NEVER know what happened, and we certainly know very little now.  What we do know there are a lot of grieving people whose lives have changed forever, including the family of Major Hasan.

I recommend giving your loved ones a hug.

Betsy


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

On a moderation note: a thread about this type of event can easily lead to flame-baiting, and we'll step in (a bit belatedly in this case) to keep the discussion from going there. 

Thanks for your thoughts on this as I join you in shock and distress about this shooting. What an unimaginable pain it is causing for so many families and friends.


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

The Atomic Bookworm said:


> The latest piece from The Associated Press[/url] says that he was methodically getting rid of stuff... which people who are suicidal do.The fact that he went to, of all places, the base's Food Court (the most crowded part of the base... complete with Military Police) and starts shooting.... yeah, he WANTED to get killed.


I took a local citizens police academy series of seminars where I am. That was the first time I'd ever heard of "suicide by cop". Person creates a situation whereby s/he would be shot by the police. But I don't know about this being the case at Ft. Hood. I doubt the person wanting to die would kill others or would create a situation in which others would die along with him/herself.


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## crca56 (Dec 20, 2008)

actually, the shooting was not at the food court, but at a soldier readiness center, where troops go for inprocessing, and outprocessing before deploying, and when coming home from deployment. this includes clinics, paperwork etc. i know this because my brother-in-law was at this same site last week.  
my sister works at the local civilian hospital about 1 mile from the post, and they recieved some of the wounded.  one of the wounded soldiers was overheard telling her husband on the phone...i was shot, but i'm ok...but honey i think i lost your kindle, i can't find your kindle.  surely there ought to be some way we can help here. i know there are smarter people than me on the boards, and if anyone wants to help, my sister is willing to try to get her name and call her and ask her permission to let us know so maybe we can help them get a replacement...let me know what y'all think.


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## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Please do find out if you can - thanks. It's a very small thing but if we can help in some minute way, at least it's something...


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

crca56 said:


> ...but honey i think i lost your kindle, i can't find your kindle. surely there ought to be some way we can help here. i know there are smarter people than me on the boards, and if anyone wants to help, my sister is willing to try to get her name and call her and ask her permission to let us know so maybe we can help them get a replacement...let me know what y'all think.





Harvey said:


> Please do find out if you can - thanks. It's a very small thing but if we can help in some minute way, at least it's something...


Only on the KindleBoards... awesome!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

crca56 said:


> one of the wounded soldiers was overheard telling her husband on the phone...i was shot, but i'm ok...but honey i think i lost your kindle, i can't find your kindle. surely there ought to be some way we can help here. i know there are smarter people than me on the boards, and if anyone wants to help, my sister is willing to try to get her name and call her and ask her permission to let us know so maybe we can help them get a replacement...let me know what y'all think.





Harvey said:


> Please do find out if you can - thanks. It's a very small thing but if we can help in some minute way, at least it's something...


Please do! I'm willing to make a donation to KBoards to put towards the cost of the Kindle!

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Absolutely -- and I betcha we can get her a bunch of OEBD coupons too so she can fill up the Kindle. . .whether she finds the one she had or acquires a new one!


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Please do! I'm willing to make a donation to KBoards to put towards the cost of the Kindle!
> 
> Betsy





Ann in Arlington said:


> Absolutely -- and I betcha we can get her a bunch of OEBD coupons too so she can fill up the Kindle. . .whether she finds the one she had or acquires a new one!


Count me in as well. 
And Ann, excellent idea. Should someone send Ed a PM in case he hasn't seen this thread?


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Yes, I'll certainly make a donation.  Keep us posted.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

*Fort Hood Shooter Tried to Contact Al Qaeda Terrorists*

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/fort-hood-shooter-contact-al-qaeda-terrorists-officials/story?id=9030873



> Officials: U.S. Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda
> Army Major in Fort Hood Massacre Used 'Electronic Means' to Connect with Terrorists
> By RICHARD ESPOSITO, MATTHEW COLE and BRIAN ROSS
> 
> ...


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I certainly hope and pray there is no backlash for the actions of one person!


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

I absolutely hope innocent Muslim soldiers do not suffer backlash.
But I don't feel like reacting to him in this context would have been profiling or anything like that. People knew he was in contact with these radicals, and they didn't do anything? And they had recently promoted him and they were going to send him overseas? I don't understand this lack of reaction until way after the fact. What's the point of having intelligence agencies if they only collect data and wait to see what happens? I mean, it's great they have the information, but it does little to say, "We knew stuff about him!" after people have already died from his actions.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Unfortunately, I think political correctness keeps us from reacting to these things proactively instead of retroactively. If they had acted against him based on the rather scanty evidence they had, they would have been crucified. Of course, now it seems obvious, but that is the beauty of hindsight. 

I wouldn't want to be in the military's position of riding the line between security risk and freedom of speech. 

What do they do with Muslim soldiers who work with nuclear weapons? At what point is that a risk factor in itself? It is an  honest question that has to be addressed given the frequency of calls to Jihad from Muslim religous leaders. Of course, not all Muslims will listen to that call.....but how can you tell ahead of time?

ugghh... glad its not my decision!!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I wouldn't jump to conclusions about terrorism.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Up until a few years ago. . . .and maybe even still. . . .if you talked "terrorists" in London, you were primarily referring to Irish Catholics. . . . . .


just sayin'. . . . . . .


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> Unfortunately, I think political correctness keeps us from reacting to these things proactively instead of retroactively. If they had acted against him based on the rather scanty evidence they had, they would have been crucified. Of course, now it seems obvious, but that is the beauty of hindsight.


I have to agree with you, Chad. That's exactly what I was thinking.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

I'm sure I've missed some news in the last 24 hours or so; does anyone know whether they figured out the reason for the discrepancies in Hasan's education records?  

Because unless that's a case of stellar incompetence in recordkeeping, it could well be an indication of something much more sinister...  and for some reason, after the first report of the discrepancy I've heard nothing more about it.  Surely there's been some mention of it again with an explanation this time...  anyone?


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Up until a few years ago. . . .and maybe even still. . . .if you talked "terrorists" in London, you were primarily referring to Irish Catholics. . . . . .
> 
> just sayin'. . . . . . .


I agree with you Ann.
I was living in London in the mid-seventies when the IRA was still bombing.
And at that time they were targeting American tourists (got a busload right outside of the tube station in front of Madame Tousaud's).
And yet Irish/American bars in this country were still taking up contributions for the "cause".
Those IRA lads were found learning/teaching their art in camps in the middle east along with the Bader Meinhoff gang and the Red Gong and the rest of them.
Terrorist comes in all colors/creeds/sizes and shapes.

Civilized people have to decide how to deal with terrorism, cause it isn't going away any time soon.


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