Fort Hood: Wading through the aftermath

KILLEEN, Texas (KXAN/AP) - One day after a mass shooting at Fort Hood sent the nation reeling, leaders are trying to come to grips with the aftermath: More information comes out every minute as victims are identified and the suspect's profile comes into focus.

On Friday, military, U.S. and state leaders were simply trying to digest the appalling mass shooting that claimed 13 lives.

"People here are tense," said SPC. Refugio Figueroa, 22. "They think they let their guard down, thinking they are on a military post, everything should be safe and then this comes up. People are worried something like this can pop up again."

No amount of flags flying at half-staff or moments of silence can summarize the massive loss of life at the post.

President Barack Obama spoke to the nation on Friday morning, ordering flags be lowered in honor of those who lost their lives.

"This is a modest tribute," said President Obama. "It is also a recognition of those men and women who serve. We stand in awe of their sacrifice. We pray for the families of those that have fallen. As we learn more, the administration will continue to provide updates."

The suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was shot by local authorities and remains hospitalized. Hasan shot and killed 13 people as well as wounding 30. Twenty-eight of those are still hospitalized. The motive for the incident is unclear. President Obama urged people not to jump to conclusions while law enforcement officials gather facts about the shootings.

The soldiers who were killed will be flown to Dover Air Force Base later tonight, where autopsies will be performed.

Law enforcement officials said a 5.7-millimeter pistol used in the Fort Hood shooting rampage was purchased legally at a Texas gun store called "Guns Galore."

Records indicate that Nadil Malik Hasan, 39, bought the FN 5.7 at the store well before the attack that left 13 people dead. The pistol has been dubbed a "cop killer" by those who have tried to stop its use. The most powerful type of ammunition for the gun is available only to law enforcement and military personnel. The ammo has the ability to pierce bulletproof vests, but it is unclear at this time whether the bullets Hasan purchased had that capability.

As the investigation continues, more details are emerging, including images captured seven hours just before he started shooting. General George W. Casey, Jr. described the tragedy as "a kick in the gut, not only for the Ft. Hood community, but for the entire Army."

The Secretary of the Army, John McHugh, came out during a press conference at 1:45 p.m. CST to commend the first responders and Lt. Sgt. Robert Cone, saying he did an "incredible job responding to an incredible challenge."

"I want to give a special thanks and a word of admiration for the first responders," said McHugh. "Those that came when the call first went out and those soldiers that utilized their battlefield life-saving training in the building as the situation was unfolding. We were told that those actions did, indeed, save their lives. The army family is strong, but a great source of that strength is what we derive from each other in time of crisis and challenge and how we hold each other straight and how we make a difference. This is the time for 'Army strong' to mean what it says."

Charles Medley, director of emergency services at Ft. Hood, commended the first responder, Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who is now injured in the hospital after shooting Hasan.

"She saved in my mind, no doubt, countless lives," said Medley. "She eliminated the threat and did what she was trained to do. She is absolutely a hero."

First responders to the shooting described what they saw when they arrived on the scene. Hundreds of unarmed troops massed together in a confined space against a rage-filled man, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, standing on top of a desk, gunning down his comrades.

"When you have anything like an active shooter or anything like that you don't hesitate at all, you go right in and your main goal is to take the shooter down," recalled Sgt. Andrew Hagerman with the military police. "Your weapon was drawn at all times? All of us, there was a whole bunch of us with weapons drawn."

Even though many of the first responders have been to war zones, they were still shocked by the amount of injuries. Sources at Ft. Hood recounted the events, saying some people ran straight to the gun fire to check for the possibly wounded. Gen. Casey actually said a young private "who was sitting in his pickup truck went after his buddies and with the help of others, dragged four other injured individuals, saving their lives."

"When you have anything like an active shooter or anything like that you don't hesitate at all. You go right in, and your main goal is to take the shooter down," recalled Sgt. Andrew Hagerman with the military police. "Your weapon was drawn at all times? All of us, there was a whole bunch of us with weapons drawn."

Hospital administrators and surgeons were waiting, ready to help as many as they could.

"We describe it as controlled chaos," remembered Lt. Col. Larry Masullo, chief of emergencies at Darnell Hospital. "It's very chaotic, but everyone knows what to do, everyone has a job. We worked extremely efficiently to move those patients quickly through the emergency department to get them up to the operating room where they needed to be."

Nurses rushed around the hospital, caring for those who were injured after the mass shootings.

"It was intense, very intense, soldiers carrying soldiers, one patient coming in after the other," said Janet DePalma, registered nurse with Darnell Hospital. "Getting people to beds and taking some of our patients in the emergency room who were stable and moving them to other areas or to chairs, making sure they were taken care of and not forgotten, and at the same time getting these critical patients into beds and getting them all taken care of."

Kelly Matlock, who works for Metroplex hospital in Killeen, commended the work of the soldiers on the post during the shootings.

"The tourniquets were tight on [one patient's] legs," said Matlock. "Whoever the soldiers were that placed them saved her life. I know that soldiers that deploy carry a tourniquet in their pocket, and the tourniquet she had on her legs was [military-issued.]"

Doctors at Central Texas hospitals worked late into the night helping save victims' lives. More than 20 surgeons mobilized to work on victims with multiple gunshot wounds. A doctor at the hospital where several of the wounded from the shooting rampage at Fort Hood were taken said some patients are still at risk of dying. W. Roy Smythe of Scott and White Hospital said some of "extremely serious injuries" and several patients are still at "significant risk" of losing their lives. However, the hospital worked tirelessly to make sure everyone was treated.

"It was really awesome," said Matlock. "All those nurses came down, everyone was working as a team. If I asked for something, they brought it to me. If the patient needed something, they got it. It went as smooth[ly] as it could have gone, considering the circumstances. I was really proud."

Despite all the miracles performed in the hospitals, some people that knew Hasan are still shocked. A former neighbor of Hasan said "I would never have believed that [he did this] because he seemed to calm. He was never upset with anything whenever I saw him."

Gun control activists spoke out avidly after the mass shooting, releasing the following statement:

"The answer to gun violence is not more guns. This most recent shooting serves only to demonstrate that all places where people gather are vulnerable to mass shootings -whether a school, church, shopping mall, or military base. This shooting also demonstrates the fallacy that mass shooters will avoid venues where people are likely to be armed or that mass shooters can be stopped easily by armed individuals. Ignoring the lessons of this most recent tragedy will only guarantee that the pattern will be repeated at yet another location."

Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and Gold Star Families Speak Out (GSFSO) released this statement:

As the nation was stunned by the horrific tragedies that left 13 dead and 30 wounded on Ft. Hood yesterday, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) and Gold Star Families Speak Out (GSFSO) would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to our fellow Military Families and those who love them. Upon first hearing about such attacks, our stress as military families intensifies, and we experience a range of emotions: the panic that it is our loved one who has been attacked, the guilty relief if our loved one escaped the bullet this time, the sorrow for those of us who suffer and face the incalculable loss of losing forever those we nurture and love.

As the facts unfold, military families on Ft. Hood and across the nation are experiencing the fear, pain, and loss that many of us thought were only associated with the battlefield, not time at home. One month before Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, he said, "The bombs in Vietnam explode at home...." While it is too soon to jump to conclusions about what happened on Ft. Hood, there are things that we as military families do know. One is that while we are being crushed under the weight of two seemingly endless wars, we have the additional burden of fear at home.

 

Fort Hood set up a hotline for relatives of Fort Hood personnel at (254) 288-7570 or (866) 836-2751.

Contributing writers: Jackie Vega, Karen Brooks, David Scott, Erin Cargile, Natalie Stoll, Jim Swift, Josh Hinkle, Carla Castano, Jenny Hoff and Matt Flener