This video was recorded fairly soon after the incident. Much has been learned since then.
A shooting at the Fort Hood military installation in Texas has left at least four people dead, including the gunman, and more than a dozen were injured, according to authorities.
The gunman, identified by multiple government sources as Army Specialist Ivan Lopez, took his own life, officials said.
Lopez, 33, of Kileen, Tex., was wearing an Army uniform at the time of the shooting, Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told reporters.
Four people were taken to Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Tex., and another two are being brought there, said Glen Couchman, the facility’s chief medical officer. Their injuries that “range from stable to quite critical,” he said.
Of course, more information will unfold during the night and upcoming days. Talking heads will talk the issue to death. Politicians will turn it into politics as usual. The gun rights people will demand less regulation and will insist on arming everyone. The gun control folks will demand keeping all guns under lock and key. Somewhere along the way it will all become Obama’s fault.
Have our military bases become our new killing fields? Are our troops and military civilians in as much danger here on American soil on military bases as they are on foreign soil? It appears that might just be the case. Our veterans are committing suicide at an unprecedented rate, 22 per day. Violence on military bases is becoming commonplace: Fort Hood, Norfolk, Quantico, the Navy Yard …the list goes on.
More importantly, what are we doing to stop the violence? What are the causes and what are the solutions? Can our military bases ever be secure?
“Have our military bases become our new killing fields? Are our troops and military civilians in as much danger here on American soil on military bases as they are on foreign soil? It appears that might just be the case. Our veterans are committing suicide at an unprecedented rate, 22 per day. Violence on military bases is becoming commonplace: Fort Hood, Norfolk, Quantico, the Navy Yard …the list goes on.
More importantly, what are we doing to stop the violence? What are the causes and what are the solutions? Can our military bases ever be secure?”
I hope former military personnel will join this discussion since I find Moon’s comments above a broad and overstated indictment of the military.
“Have our military bases become our new killing fields?”
* No, they have not—the streets and neighborhoods of America are the real, “killing fields”. Gun violence in this country will continue as long as there is unfettered access to weapons. As it stands at the moment, it appears that the gun Specialist Ivan Lopez used was purchased somewhere off base and was not authorized on base.
“Are our troops and military civilians in as much danger here on American soil on military bases as they are on foreign soil? It appears that might just be the case.”
* Pardon the sailor language, but are you shitting me? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are something on the order 30 gun-related murders and 162 people wounded by firearms in this country EVERY DAY. That is not happening in Afghanistan and to the best of my knowledge did not happen in Iraq where the business of killing was the business of the day.
“Our veterans are committing suicide at an unprecedented rate, 22 per day.”
* While I don’t know if veteran suicides are a part of the total but, again, according to the CDC: 53 people kill themselves with a firearm each day.
“Violence on military bases is becoming commonplace: Fort Hood, Norfolk, Quantico, the Navy Yard …the list goes on.”
* Oh really? Again, AYSM? Is violence on military bases any more than the violence in America EVERY DAY? If I was making such a statement, it might be something like, “Violence in our schools is becoming commonplace: Sandy Hook Elementary (28 dead, 2 wounded), Virginia Tech (33 dead, 25 wounded), Sparks Middle School (Nevada), Radford University, Oikos University (Oakland, CA), New River Community College (Christiansburg, VA), Santa Monica College…the list goes on.”
“More importantly, what are we doing to stop the violence?”
* Not very much. People can still buy guns and now in Virginia they can buy about as many as they want as often as they want. And that does take into account knives, ball bats, chains, hammers, and other such instruments used to dispatch people from this vale of tears.
“What are the causes and what are the solutions?”
* Well in the case of Specialist Ivan Lopez, it appears that post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety…”and the list goes on” may have been at the root of his actions.
“Can our military bases ever be secure?”
• Perhaps more than the streets and schools of American but it must be remembered they are military bases and what does the military do? We train to KILL people among other things. We play with VERY DANGEROUS toys that go bump in the night.
So my suggestions in this case:
a. Don’t go, “Ready, Fire, Aim”
b. Don’t call out the circular firing squad.
c. And, in the words of Winston Churchill, “Keep Calm and Carry On.”
d. Oh, and don’t be Henny Penny going around screaming, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.”
With only a couple of minor quibbles that don’t really affect the message…..
What he said.
Thanks Cargo. I know what I wrote might be considered a diatribe but I feel strongly about our military, as I know you do, and speculation about how/why things happen or unfounded statements simply rub me the wrong way.
@George S. Harris
The only quibbles I had was using the CDC for your gun stats… murders in 2011 were only 8583. 2012…estimated to be around the same.
I think that a major part of the problem is that the US has become complacent about security on bases. I don’t know if arming the members is the right idea or not. The logistics of that boggles the mind…because the guns don’t belong to them, and time would be spent all day at the armory. Having the members be personally responsible for sidearms…and allowing them to be taken home……HUGE SEA CHANGE. Also…. not enough sidearms or qualified people.
Perhaps setting up more armed watch standers. Perhaps a roving guard…. three per 100. I could not believe the lack of security at the Navy Yard. TWO guards once past the gate? Really? At least when the NCIS was there, there were armed cops available. Every command should have a “Quarterdeck watch” armed with a sidearm. What if it had been an actual planned terrorist attack instead of a lone nut job?
I’m all for arming troops, etc. But I also am not one of those blaming the bases as a “gun free” zone other than stating that security needs to be upgraded. While I would like to see more armed troops, I don’t think that our military and political mindset can make that work.
Fort Hood Shooter Bought Weapon From Same Gun Shop Tied to 2009 Rampage
The Fort Hood shooter bought his gun at the same Texas gun shop where the 2009 gunman purchased his, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
Guns Galore in Killeen turned over information to the feds, presumably over the .45-caliber Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol used in Wednesday’s shooting.
Employee Greg Ebert declined to say what information was provided, but told NBC News that the shop would have any relevant security footage because “everything here’s recorded.”
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/fort-hood-shooting/fort-hood-shooter-bought-weapon-same-gun-shop-tied-2009-n70971
Merchant of death.
Something different about this one, it seems to me. PTSD immediately becomes a thing to be tossed around in these incidents. But I just saw reporting which said that, while Lopez did serve in Iraq, he never saw combat (truck driver). Makes me wonder if this case is pure Lopez and not the military….as in personal mental problems not necessarily caused by service in a combat zone. It could be that Lopez just went “Postal” not in the Post Office but on a military base.
You don’t have to be in combat to have PTSD. I know several people with that diagnosis who were truck drivers and other support staff. I think just the fact you are in Iraq might do it for me. You never know when some form of terrorism is going to get you. Same with Vietnam.
I think PTSD might just cover a wider area of emotional and mental disorders than previously thought.
@Starryflights
Merchant of death?
Really?
So…you have evidence that not one single weapon sold that that store was ever used in self defense or for sporting purposes?
@Wolverine
Exactly.
NOT yet diagnosed with PTSD.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/02/fort-hood-shooter-had-mental-health-problems/7237489/
Also…allegedly on Ambien.
Some side effects: less common: paranoia
quick to react or overreact emotionally
rapidly changing moods
restlessness
seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there
Rare:
Attack, assault, or force
delusions
dementia
thoughts of killing oneself or changes in behavior
Side effects for Ambien (from Drug.com) include:
“Need to Evaluate for Co-morbid Diagnoses”
Because sleep disturbances may be the presenting manifestation of a physical and/or psychiatric disorder, symptomatic treatment of insomnia should be initiated only after a careful evaluation of the patient. The failure of insomnia to remit after 7 to 10 days of treatment may indicate the presence of a primary psychiatric and/or medical illness that should be evaluated. Worsening of insomnia or the emergence of new thinking or behavior abnormalities may be the consequence of an unrecognized psychiatric or physical disorder. Such findings have emerged during the course of treatment with sedative/hypnotic drugs, including zolpidem.
“Abnormal Thinking and Behavioral Changes”
Abnormal thinking and behavior changes have been reported in patients treated with sedative/hypnotics, including Ambien. Some of these changes included decreased inhibition (e.g., aggressiveness and extroversion that seemed out of character), bizarre behavior, agitation and depersonalization. Visual and auditory hallucinations have been reported.
In controlled trials of Ambien 10 mg taken at bedtime < 1% of adults with insomnia reported hallucinations. In a clinical trial, 7% of pediatric patients treated with Ambien 0.25 mg/kg taken at bedtime reported hallucinations versus 0% treated with placebo.
It can rarely be determined with certainty whether a particular instance of the abnormal behaviors listed above is drug induced, spontaneous in origin, or a result of an underlying psychiatric or physical disorder. Nonetheless, the emergence of any new behavioral sign or symptom of concern requires careful and immediate evaluation.
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Unfortunately, Lopez killed himself so REAL answers will never be known. So my best advice at this time is:
Don't get your exercise by jumping to conclusions. 😉
@ Cargo: I don’t know that introducing more guns into the formula will improve security. I know you are a gun advocate and I am not so perhaps it is best we agree to disagree on that topic.
As to numbers–OK–apparently yours are the FBI numbers of which 6220 were handgun deaths. Any number of gun deaths are too many.
@ Cargo and Wolfie: Who says PTSD has to be the result of “combat”, however that is defined? Do you have to be shot at to be in “combat”? IMHO, the “no combat” issue is the Army’s way of excusing itself for not figuring out what was wrong with Lopez before this happened.
As you know, driving a truck in these areas has contributed to many deaths from roadside or buried IEDs. It’s not just folks on foot patrols who get killed/injured by IEDs. The proof of this issue is the millions we have spent on developing “bomb proof” trucks. My SeaBee grandson, who happens to be a Utilitiesman, drove trucks on patrols and you can bet your bippy I worried about him. But SeaBees are kinda like Marines in that they are heavily involved in combat training and are prepared to fight at the drop of a hat. But I still worried.
@George S. Harris
Notice….. I described the addition of guns in a military format…..armed watchstanders….ie..guards.
As for the PTSD…. I merely reported that he was not yet diagnosed with it. So we don’t know. For all we know, they were getting ready to say that he had it. The Army didn’t deny that he had it. He was under a doctor’s evaluation.
And good luck to your grandson. SeaBees are the best people to know in theater. They sure as heck made my life better.
@Cargosquid
Also…PTSD is NOT linked to violence.
George — Lopez was in Iraq for only four months in 2011 and had no record of being in combat action. He was, in fact, part of the military truck team moving supplies and materiel out of Iraq in preparation for our final departure. I doubt PTSD in this case unless his mental state was already bad when he got there. I would guess that the military shrinks may have just flubbed one all along his career in the Natonal Guard and then the Regular Army.
As I understand it, PTSD doesn’t have to be based on being combat. Have I misunderstood the disorder?
Maybe that is where the discussion needs to begin.