There really aren’t words to describe what has happened today. But I will do my best. Today at around 1:30PM CST (2:30PM EST) an armed gunmen, Major Malik Nadal Hasan, 39, drove onto Fort Hood Army base, where he was stationed, and began shooting. The latest numbers are that there have been 12 people killed and 31 wounded. One of the original wounded died bringing the number of dead from 11 to 12. Major Hasan was originally believed to be dead, but it has since been reported that he was wounded but alive. These numbers are still sketchy due in large part to the false reports that Hasan had been killed. He is said to have had two handguns but it is still unclear whether he had to stop to reload during the shooting. Hasan was shot several times by a female civilian officer. She was wounded in the shootout and her condition is currently unknown, but she has certainly come out of this tragic event as a hero and I hope she is okay.

Today was also graduation day for some of the troops at Fort Hood. There was a ceremony going on near or in the Readiness Center. This was in the area of where the shooting took place. Following the shooting the base was immediately put on lock down for security purposes. Fort Hood has since been taken off of lock down after more then 5 hours on the heightened alert status. Fort Hood is also working to help the victims and their families during this tragic time.

In response to this tragedy Fort Hood has setup a hotline for families to check in with the base. The number for that hotline is 254-724-3562 and/or 254-288-7570.

Fort Hood, is home to about 40,000 troops, and the base to the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division and elements of the 4th Infantry Division, as well as the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 13th Corps Support Command. It is located near Killeen, Texas.

News is still coming in from all areas, but what I know now is that Hasan was a medical professional for the United States Army. He specialized in the mental health profession, which seems a little ironic to me. He also was believed to be in preparations for deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Two other men were taken into custody. Officials believed that they could have been involved in the attacks. However, since then they both have been released and a separate suspect has been brought into custody by police. Officials now believe that there was only one shooter. I commend General Cone for his reaction to the event, he handled this extremely stressful situation with great poise. He stated, “that as horrible as this was, it could have been much worse.”

As previously mentioned, Hasan was a psychiatrist with the US Army. He completed his undergraduate education at Virginia Tech (once again ironic based on the tragic Virginia Tech shootings in April of 2007) and later completed medical school in the military. He was recently transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center to Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. We now also know (as previously mentioned) that he was scheduled to be deployed overseas in the coming months, which is said to be one of his greatest fears. Now, some of these fears could be based on what he was having to hear from the veterans he treated. So one possible answer for why he did this was the fear of deployment. It has also been reported by Fox News that his family did not know of the deployment.

Now, Hasan is a Muslim, although I don’t know what to make of that. But it makes me wonder whether or not this was a terrorist attack of sorts. Now, it by no means was a “traditional” terrorist attack. The definition of a terrorist attack is a surprise attack involving the deliberate use of violence against civilians in the hope of attaining political or religious goals. Although he did not target “civilians” per say, there are initial reports that he had at the very least political motives for attacking the military installation. Fox News reports that he was against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and did not like President Obama’s stance on the wars. It is believed that he thought that Obama’s election would draw both wars to a close. He is believed to have become more and more frustrated since (in his mind) Obama wasn’t delivering on his election promises.

Another interesting point, as reported by CNN, which supports the idealogical and terrorist attack claims is that Federal Agencies have been looking into Hasan because of his Internet postings which speak of suicide bombings and other threats.

President Obama made a statement about the attack. He categorized the attack as “horrifying”. He also stated the he is working with the Pentagon, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that Fort Hood is secure. He also said that Fort Hood will be given the full resources of the federal government. The President asked that all Americans keep the men and women of Fort Hood in your thoughts and prayers.

As previously mentioned the attack took place at Fort Hood’s readiness center which is one of the last stops before soldiers deploy. It is also one of the first places a soldier goes upon returning to the United States. According to CNN, Hutchison said she was told that the soldiers at the readiness facility “were filling out paper processing to go to Iraq or Afghanistan,” according to CNN affiliate KXAN in Austin, Texas.

There have been photos flowing in to every news agency throughout the country. These pictures show both extreme heroism and extreme chaos. You must remember that todays events are the worst soldier-on-soldier killings in American history. Many of these photos remind me of other mass shootings in American history, from Virginia Tech to Columbine. Here are some photos from todays events:

I also want to note that according to CNN, Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, posted an online appeal for blood as it began receiving victims. “Due to the recent events on Fort Hood, we are in URGENT need of ALL blood types,” it said.

Soldiers from all around the base responded with great heroism, in some cases even ripping off their uniforms to create bandages for the wounded. I think this shows how with every tradgedy their comes some good, and I think the good that has come out of this is that it shows the true colors of the men and women in our Armed Forces.

As I’ve said, information will continue to flow in from agencies across the country. I will update this post with this news updates.

Now, I really want to hear what you think about the events that took place today. Do you think that this was an idealogical attack, or was it a stress or fear related attack? How do you feel? Do you have any other information? Please, leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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SOURCES: Associated Press, CNN, Star-Telegram, NBC News Video, CNN Video and Dictionary.com.