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| Photo Credit: Reuters / Jessica Rinaldi |
By Alex Johnson, Jim Miklaszewski and Pete Williams, Apr. 2, 2014, NBC News
Four people were dead, including the
gunman, and at least 16 others were wounded in a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas,
military officials told NBC News.
The gunman, identified as Ivan Lopez, 34 —
an enlisted soldier — took his own life with a .45-caliber Smith and
Wesson semi-automatic pistol, officials said.
A U.S. military official told NBC
News that Lopez was an active-duty soldier who was assigned to a Sustainment
Brigade.
All of the wounded and killed were
also military, according to Lt. General Mark Milley, who spoke to reporters at
the base after the shooting.
Milley, who didn't use Lopez's name
pending family notification, said that the gunman was being evaluated for post
traumatic stress disorder, and had self reported a traumatic brain injury.
The soldier had not been wounded in
Iraq, but was being treated for behavioral problems, anxiety and "a number
of other psychological issues," according to Milley.
The soldier "put his hands up
and then reached under his jacket" when a female officer drew her weapon,
Milley said. "He pulled out the gun, and she engaged, and he put the
weapon to his head."
“Experience has taught us many things
here at Fort Hood. We know the community is strong .... The soldiers who have
served so bravely through the last 13 years in Iraq are strong, and we will get
through this.”
Milley said that the shootings didn't
appear to be related to terrorism or radicalism but that nothing had been ruled
out so early in the investigation.
The soldier's body was found in a
parking lot near the First Medical Brigade area, Milley said. His weapon had
been bought in the area recently and wasn't registered with the base.
Three other people died in local
hospitals, Milley said.
Doctors at Scott & White Memorial
Hospital said they were treating eight patients — seven men and one woman.
Three of the patients were said to be in critical condition and on ventilators,
while five others were in serious condition.
Read the full story: www.nbcnews.com
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