A PSYCHIATRIST WHO WAS ABOUT TO BE REDEPLOYED TO IRAQ GOES CRAZY & KILLS 12 PEOPLE WOUNDING 31 MORE @ THE FORT HOOD ARMY BASE!

An Army Major who treated soldiers for combat stress went on a bloody rampage at the sprawling Fort Hood Army Base in Texas on Thursday, killing 12 people and wounding 31, officials said.
The gunman, identified as Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, was killed by police.

A psychiatrist assigned to the Medical Corps, he was upset about being redeployed to Iraq, said Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson.

Two other soldiers were later taken into custody as officials investigated witness reports of multiple shooters. All of the victims appeared to be soldiers preparing to deploy to war.

"It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning," said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander.

Accounts of the massacre were sketchy.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said, "there were three shooters." Cone said only one gunman opened fire with two handguns just after 2:30 p.m. at the Soldier Readiness Center, where troops prepare for deployment.

President Obama called it a "horrific outburst of violence," stressing that the victims were those who volunteered to protect the nations.

"It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil," Obama said.

When the shooting began, emergency sirens blared across the massive base and officials warned the population of nearly 34,000 to take cover as they hunted for the gunmen.

The base - the largest military installation in the world - was locked down and the public address system crackled with calls for blood donors.

Two hours later, the hunt appeared to be wrapped up but the base was still in lockdown and terrified military families remained in their homes. The shooting was confined to the Soldier Readiness Center, Cone said.

Hutchinson said many of the victims were collecting their final deployment papers.

Retired Army Col. Greg Schannep, an aide to Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), said he was heading for a 2 p.m. graduation ceremony on the base when he heard numerous shots and saw a wounded soldier run by. "Initially, I thought it was a training exercise," he said. Schannep said he heard three or four volleys of shots with eight to 12 shots in each volley.

"A soldier came running past me and said 'sir there is someone shooting.' As he ran past me I saw blood on his back.

I don't think he even knew he had been shot. He has since been treated and should be OK," he said.

FBI agents were assisting the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, which was leading the probe. "We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident," Obama said.

"We are going to stay on this."

Fort Hood is in central Texas, about halfway between Austin and Waco.

Most soldiers there have been through multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Suicides and combat stress have been major issues there. On Sept. 8, 2008, a soldier scheduled to be discharged shot another soldier, then killer himself.