Gunman kills 12 at U.S. Army base, suspect alive

By Erwin Seba

KILLEEN, Texas (Reuters) - An Army psychiatrist opened fire with two handguns at the Fort Hood Army post on Thursday, killing 12 and wounding 31 others, Army officials said, adding the suspect was shot several times but survived.

Authorities identified the suspected gunman as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who had treated soldiers wounded in foreign wars preparing for foreign deployment at the post.

"Our investigation is ongoing but preliminary reports indicate that there was a single shooter," Lieutenant-General Robert Cone, Fort Hood's commanding officer, told a news conference. "The shooter is not dead but in custody in stable condition."

Cone said the suspect had been shot multiple times. He had previously said the suspect was killed by police officers during the attack at the biggest military facility in the world.

"He's not currently speaking to investigators," Cone said of Hasan. Pressed on the suspect's condition, he said, "I would say his death is not imminent."

Asked if the shootings were a terrorist act, Cone said, "I couldn't rule that out but ... the evidence does not suggest that."

The Army said the gunman opened fire at about 1:30 p.m. CST (1930 GMT) at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center, a group of buildings where soldiers were getting medical check-ups before leaving for overseas deployments.

Cone said the gunman had two weapons, one of them a semi-automatic. "There is no indication that they were military weapons," he said.