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Soldier Opens Fire At Fort Hood, Kills 4

by Jenny Hollander

A shooter opened fire at Texas' Fort Hood military base Wednesday. The shooting left four people dead and more than a dozen others injured, according to law enforcement officials. The shooter has reportedly committed suicide, according to the Associated Press. He was identified as 34-year-old soldier Ivan Lopez, CBS reports. The Fort Hood lockdown was lifted at about 10:00 p.m. EST. President Obama says he is "heartbroken" over the incident.

At a Fort Hood press conference, Lt. Gen. Mark Milley said that 16 people were injured in the shooting. Although he did not identify the shooter by name because his next-of-kin had not been notified, Milley said the shooter had served four months in the Iraq War and was being treated for depression, anxiety, and possible PTSD. He had only arrived at Fort Hood in February.

Milley said the shooter walked into two buildings and opened fire. When approached and engaged by local law enforcement, he shot himself in the head. Milley says the pistol he used was not registered on base and had been purchased locally recently.

Milley said there is no indication of terrorism, but he's not ruling it out though. He also said there was no confirmation of an argument beforehand between the shooter and other military on base.

In 2009, Fort Hood was the location of America's worst-ever mass shooting at a military base, when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan fatally shot 13 people and injured 30 more. He was sentenced to death last year.

President Obama, speaking from Chicago, said that the Defense Department and FBI were working to figure out more details.

I want to assure all of us we going to get to bottom of what happened. Any shooting is troubling. Obviously this reopened the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families, we know the service to their country and the sacrifices that they make.
Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community and we are going to do everything we can to make the community of Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with a tough situation but also any potential aftermath.
We’re heartbroken that something like this might have happened again. I don’t want to comment on the facts until we know exactly what happened.

Some gunshot victims who were transported to Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, were in critical condition, with "very, very severe injuries," according to a press conference.

Army Secretary John McHugh told Fox that it was a "tragedy" and an "an emotional moment." Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, speaking earlier today on the U.S.S. Anchorage, said there were "casualties" at Fort Hood, but he had no additional information.

WXXV-TV reports that the suspect was found dead in a gray car.

You can watch the live feed here.

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