Military News, News From Iraq & Afghanistan - Military Times

Army: At least 1 Hood shooter in custody

WASHINGTON — At least seven people were killed and 20 wounded in a pair of shootings Thursday at the Fort Hood, Texas, the Army said.

An Army spokesman said the base was locked down after the shootings. Another official told The Associated Press that at least one shooter had been caught.

The FBI was sending agents to the scene.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Nathan Banks said the first shooting began about 1:30 p.m. at a personnel and medical processing office. The facility, called a Soldier Rating and Processing Center, handles administrative details for soldiers.

Banks said two shooters were apparently involved. There was no immediate word on who they were, nor on identities of the dead.

Banks said the second incident took place at a theater on the sprawling post.

Another Army official identified that site as Howze Theater.

That official, who requested anonymity to discuss an evolving incident, said a graduation had been scheduled for 2 p.m. at the theater.

As the White House gathered details on the shooting, President Barack Obama was still planning to speak late Thursday afternoon at the closing of a White House conference with the American Indian leaders, being held at the Interior Department. Obama was running behind in departing the White House, though.

It was not clear whether the president would address the shooting during his appearance at the event.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Sara Kuban said officials are still collecting information on the shootings. “DoD, DHS, FBI and other members of the intelligence community are assessing and gathering facts about the shooting,” Kuban said. “Because this is early in this event, we cannot at this time confirm motives behind these shootings.”

—————

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Devlin Barrett, Ben Feller and Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report.