President Obama walks at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland today prior to boarding Air Force One for a trip to Fort Hood, Texas to meet with families of the those wounded and killed in last week's shooting. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) |
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Reporting from Ft. Hood, Texas -
President Obama is slated to speak at a memorial service today at this grieving Army base, where a military psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage.
The service, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. local time, will be a traditional military affair, with a sermon, a roll call of the dead and a rifle volley. About 3,000 spectators, as well as the families of the 12 soldiers and one civilian killed, are expected to attend.
The tribute comes amid new questions about whether the shooting, in which dozens were also wounded, could have been prevented.
Authorities said Monday that the FBI and Army had apparently looked into contacts between the suspected gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and a Yemen-based militant Islamist prayer leader with ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Investigators are poring over numerous e-mails sent by Hasan to Anwar al Awlaki and apparently to other Islamist figures, said a federal law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
But the official said that the information authorities had at the time did not suggest that Hasan -- a devout Muslim who was reportedly despondent over his scheduled deployment to Afghanistan -- was growing violent or was involved in "any terrorist planning or plotting."
Authorities think that Hasan acted alone when he allegedly opened fire Thursday in the base's Soldier Readiness Center complex. Witnesses said he shouted "Allahu akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is great" -- before discharging more than 100 rounds from a 5.7-millimeter semiautomatic pistol.
The minutes-long rampage -- inside and outside a building where soldiers get medical exams before deploying -- ended when two civilian police officers shot the gunman in the upper torso.
Hasan is in stable condition at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Officials said he would be tried in military court.
On Monday, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, Ft. Hood's commanding general, said officials would take a "very hard look" at how they attended to the needs of troubled soldiers.
"We have other soldiers that . . . might have some of the same stress and indicators that he has," Cone said.
Still, he added, "I believe this is an isolated incident. An unfortunate, isolated incident."
ashley.powers@latimes.com
Josh Meyer and Greg Miller in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.
The service, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. local time, will be a traditional military affair, with a sermon, a roll call of the dead and a rifle volley. About 3,000 spectators, as well as the families of the 12 soldiers and one civilian killed, are expected to attend.
The tribute comes amid new questions about whether the shooting, in which dozens were also wounded, could have been prevented.
Authorities said Monday that the FBI and Army had apparently looked into contacts between the suspected gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, and a Yemen-based militant Islamist prayer leader with ties to the Sept. 11 hijackers.
Investigators are poring over numerous e-mails sent by Hasan to Anwar al Awlaki and apparently to other Islamist figures, said a federal law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
But the official said that the information authorities had at the time did not suggest that Hasan -- a devout Muslim who was reportedly despondent over his scheduled deployment to Afghanistan -- was growing violent or was involved in "any terrorist planning or plotting."
Authorities think that Hasan acted alone when he allegedly opened fire Thursday in the base's Soldier Readiness Center complex. Witnesses said he shouted "Allahu akbar!" -- Arabic for "God is great" -- before discharging more than 100 rounds from a 5.7-millimeter semiautomatic pistol.
The minutes-long rampage -- inside and outside a building where soldiers get medical exams before deploying -- ended when two civilian police officers shot the gunman in the upper torso.
Hasan is in stable condition at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Officials said he would be tried in military court.
On Monday, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, Ft. Hood's commanding general, said officials would take a "very hard look" at how they attended to the needs of troubled soldiers.
"We have other soldiers that . . . might have some of the same stress and indicators that he has," Cone said.
Still, he added, "I believe this is an isolated incident. An unfortunate, isolated incident."
ashley.powers@latimes.com
Josh Meyer and Greg Miller in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.
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