Shooter at Texas army base kills 12

A U.S. military officeris in custody after 12 people were killed and 32 were wounded in a shooting rampage at an army base in Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday.

Thesuspectwas initially reported dead butwas later confirmed to be alive. Hewasidentified asMaj. Malik Nadal Hasan, 39, a military mental health doctor who was about to be sent to war, according to law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"He was shot multiple times at the scene," base commander Lt.-Gen. Robert Cone said. "However, he was not killed as previously reported. He is currently in custody and in stable condition."

Military officials later said he was shot four times and was on a ventilator and unconscious.

Cone saida soldier,armed with two handguns,opened fire at about 1:30 p.m. CT in the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where troopsgo through medical screening before being deployed overseas or after returning from a posting.

Cone also clarified the status of a female civilian officer who had been reportedkilled.

"We know that the female officer is alive, just out of surgery and in stable condition. She is believed to be the first-responder who shot the suspect."

Cone said one of the guns used was a semi-automatic weapon. He said he couldn't speculate on reports that the shooterwas targeting specific people.

Hasan was born in Virginia and graduated from Virginia Tech,the site of amass shooting in 2007. He was also afellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry in the department of psychiatry at the F. Edward Hbert School of Medicine.

Hasanworked for six years atthe Walter Reed Army Hospital, where he reportedly received a poor performance evaluation, saidofficials who had access to his military records. He was transferred to Fort Hood in July.

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said Hasan was not happy that he wasabout to be deployed, although it is unclear if Hasan was destined for Afghanistan or Iraq.

Wanted troop withdrawal

Terry Lee, a retired army colonel, told Fox Newshe had worked with Hasan, who hoped U.S. President Barack Obama would pull troops out of both wars. Lee said Hasan got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.

The officials said Hasan had come to their attention at least six months before the attack because of internet postings that appeared to come from him that discussed suicide bombings and other threats. Officials are still working to confirm Hasan's connection to the postings, but an official investigationwas never opened.

One of the postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

"He is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause," the posting says.

Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Md., said he spoke often with Hasan about how Hasan wanted to find a wife. Hasan was a lifelong Muslim and attended prayers regularly, often in his army uniform, Khan said.

Obama called theTexas shooting"a horrific outburst of violence" and pledged support for the Fort Hood community.

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

Threeother soldiers wereapprehended after Thursday's attack, but allhave since been released.

The soldiers who witnessed the attack would not have been carrying weapons to defend themselves, said Specialist Jerry Richard, who works at Fort Hood. Soldiers are only armed on the base during training exercises.

"Overseas, you are ready for it," he said. "But here, you can't even defend yourself."

Fort Hood isbetween Austin and Waco. It is reported to be the largest U.S. military base in the world and home to almost 5,000 officers, more than 45,000 enlisted military personnel and roughly 9,000 civilian employees.

A graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on nearby at the time of the shooting, said Sgt. Rebekah Lampman, a Fort Hood spokeswoman.