Fort Hood: Soldier Opens Fire On Colleagues

Four people are dead after a US soldier opened fire at Fort Hood in Texas - five years after a shooter killed 13 people at the same military base.

The soldier, who was being treated for psychiatric problems including depression and anxiety, is among the dead after shooting himself in the head.

Sixteen others have been injured, Lieutenant General Mark Milley told a press conference.

All those hit by the soldier's recently purchased 45-calibre semi-automatic weapon were in the military. The gun had not been registered at the base.

Lieutenant General Mark Milley at Fort Hood

"At approximately 4pm a soldier fired shots at individuals," said Lt Gen Milley, the base's commanding officer.

"Within 15 minutes first responders for the military police and emergency services responded to the scene.

"It is believed he walked into one of the unit buildings, opened fire, got into a vehicle, fired from the vehicle, got out of the vehicle and opened fire again in another building.

"A military police officer responded. He was approaching her at about 20 feet. He put his hands up, then reached under his jacket. He pulled out his gun, she pulled out her weapon, she then engaged and he put the weapon to his head."

The soldier, who served four months in Iraq in 2011, was under review for possible post-traumatic stress disorder.

Fort Hood is home to 45,000 soldiers and 9,000 civilians

"There are reports that he self-reported a traumatic brain injury coming back from the Iraq tour," said Lt Gen Milley.

The soldier was married and had a family.

"We do not know a motive," Lt Gen Milley added.

"There are some initial reports there may have been an argument in one of the unit areas.

"At this time there is no indication this incident is related to terrorism, although we are not ruling anything out."

A Twitter alert posted by Fort Hood to implement a lockdown

The gunman's identity will not be released until his next-of-kin have been informed.

The soldier arrived at Fort Hood in February.

President Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" that the base - where 13 people died in a shooting in 2009 - had suffered again.

"I want to assure everyone we are going to get to the bottom of what happened," said Mr Obama.

"Any shooting is troubling. Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families; we know their incredible service to this country and the sacrifices they make.

Poilce arrive at the scene

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community and we're going to do everything we can to make sure the community at Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation and any potential aftermath.

"We're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again."

The condition of those wounded in the attack ranges from "stable to quite critical".

All-clear sirens have now sounded at Fort Hood after several hours of lockdown. Personnel had been told to take shelter and stay away from doors and windows.

Sky's Amanda Walker said: "It's a huge military base. Around 45,000 soldiers are based there and 9,000 civilians.

Patients have been flown to hospital

"We don't know how the gunman got into the base.

"It is absolutely astonishing this has happened again at a secure military base that has had a terrible history with the previous shooting."

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

The base endured a shooting five years ago, which left 13 people dead and 30 injured.

Asked whether security improvements made since the tragedy have been adequate, Mr Hagel said: "Obviously when we have these kinds of tragedies on our bases, something's not working."

Major Nidal Hasan faces the death sentence following the 2009 shooting

Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan faces the death penalty for the 2009 killing spree.

In statements to the judge the American-born Muslim suggested he believed the attack was justified as a jihad against the US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The base is the biggest in the US, covering 340 square miles.

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