Fort Hood Shooting Spree Kills 13; Interview with One Victim's Family
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good morning, John and Kiran. Here's what we're working on today. U.S. soldiers attacked on American soil, and the suspect, one of their own. We'll tell you what we know at this point about the victims in this crime and also the very latest on the investigation. And to this story, double-digit territory now and double digits that you don't want. The jobless rate jumps to heights not seen in a quarter of a century. We'll get you the very latest. And as the House nears a health care reform vote, we profile one man's fight for fairness. Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.</s>COL. JOHN ROSSI, DEPUTY COMMANDING GENERAL, FORT HOOD: Today on Fort Hood, we'll observe a day of mourning and remember in our thoughts and prayers the victims of this incident.</s>COLLINS: Here is the latest on what we know on the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. Another victim died overnight, pushing the death toll to 13 now. Thirty people were wounded in the attack. The suspected gunman is an army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. He was shot four times and despite initial reports is alive this morning. He's hospitalized in stable condition. The motive for the shootings is not clear, of course, at this point. What we do know, though, Hasan was apparently set to deploy soon and was not happy about it. He had earlier voiced anger about the wars both in Afghanistan and Iraq. Soldiers who witnessed the shooting said the gunman shouted in Arabic, "God is great," before opening fire. That's according to the base commander. We have an awful lot of ground to cover this morning. I want to begin with CNN's David Mattingly. He's been gathering as much information as possible and joins us now from outside the gates of Fort Hood. David, good morning to you.</s>DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Major Hasan is laying in a military hospital bed under guard this morning. He has four gunshot wounds, he's on a ventilator, and that's a dramatic change from what he was doing just 24 hours ago.</s>MATTINGLY (voice-over): This exclusive video appears to show the suspected shooter just hours before he allegedly opened fire on a room full of U.S. soldiers. The store owner identified Major Nidal Hasan as a regular at this convenience store and the 39-year-old psychiatrist appears to be calm, even smiling as he buys his morning coffee. Just seven hours later, the army says he made his way here, to the Family Readiness Center, and armed with two handguns, including a semiautomatic, shot and killed 13 people, wounded 30, and plunged the world's largest military post into chaos. The army has said little more about the man or his motive.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've asked for assistance from federal agencies to make sure we have this investigation right.</s>MATTINGLY: But we've learned that Hasan might have been known to authorities for some time. Six months ago, federal law enforcement officials reportedly came across an Internet posting signed with Hasan's name discussing suicide bombings and other threats. We've also learned that Hasan was apparently unhappy about his upcoming deployment, telling a cousin he was mortified by the idea. Military records reveal a career that spanned more than a decade. Born in Virginia of Jordanian descent, Hasan graduated from Virginia Tech in 1997 with a degree in biochemistry. He received his first deployment to the army that same year. Six years later, he began work at the Walter Reed Medical Center, pursuing a career in psychiatry and counseling scores of soldiers with posttraumatic stress. Hasan received at least three medals during this time and neighbors near Walter Reed remembered him as easygoing.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he seemed so calm and, you know, he was never upset with anything.</s>MATTINGLY: But there are also reports that Hasan received a bad performance review at Walter Reed and was forced to undergo counseling and increased supervision. His family has also said he was harassed by other soldiers for being Muslim, a frustration that they say caused him to rethink his career in the military.</s>MATTINGLY: Those complaints, his family says, dating back all the way to 9/11 - Heidi.</s>COLLINS: All right. David, I want to talk a minute, if we could, about some of the first responders. Already, we have heard the commander of Fort Hood talking about how incredibly proud he is of some of the work that they did, and specifically, this woman who was -- basically shot back at Hasan. We are learning about her condition this morning as well.</s>MATTINGLY: That's right. That officer, Kimberly Munley, she is a civilian police officer assigned to the Post Police Department here at Fort Hood. She responded to the call many about three minutes after the shooting started. She's credited with being responsible for exchanging gunfire with the shooter, wounding him, and herself being wounded in the process. Now this is just a reminder, that none of the soldiers in this building were carrying firearms when this shooting rampage began. They were virtually defenseless.</s>COLLINS: Right.</s>MATTINGLY: It wasn't until she got there with her partner, started returning fire, that this incident was brought to a close.</s>COLLINS: Yes, understood. All right. David Mattingly, continuing to follow this story very closely for us, live from Fort Hood this morning. David, thank you. Again, want to take a moment this morning to try and focus more on the victims in this tragic event at Fort Hood. We actually right now have on the phone with us the father of one of the wounded soldiers. He's calling in from Post Falls, Idaho. George Stratton, can you hear me OK?</s>GEORGE STRATTON, SON WOUNDED AT FORT HOOD SHOOTING: Yes, I can hear you.</s>COLLINS: What can you tell me, sir, about your son?</s>STRATTON: Well, I can tell you that he's alive and he's doing good so that's probably the best news of all. But I don't know mentally how he is, you know? He's been pretty well sedated since the incident happened, but...</s>COLLINS: We should say that your son's name is also George Stratton, George Stratton III. He's 18 years old.</s>STRATTON: Yes. He just turned 18 in July, actually. When he joined the service, he was only 17. We had to, you know, sign for him to go in, but that's what he wanted to do and it did -- you know, did wonders for him. He loved it. And I'm certain his superiors appreciated him, too. He took it serious and I think it really grew him up, you know, the good things that he got from it were actually pretty amazing.</s>COLLINS: What did he have to say to you about what went on?</s>STRATTON: Well, when I -- I actually asked him what went on, you know, I asked him if the guy that -- because if the guy -- at that point in time, we didn't know and the news didn't really know. So I asked him if the guy that shot him was another service member and he said he was in uniform, is what he said, and he had a handgun. So -- but as far as the events that happened and, you know, this is him -- he was sedated at the time, but what he said was a man walked -- the suspect walked through the door, came into the room that they were in, in the Readiness Center, and he said he walked -- sounded like he walked around behind him and went behind a desk and, you know, George wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing. And then all of a sudden, said about 15 rounds went off really quick and he just said it was ear shattering. He couldn't hear anything and he dropped down to take cover and then he said he peeked up from behind wherever his cover position was and the guy happened to be standing right in front of him and he said he was five feet away from me, Dad, and he shot me right in the shoulder. And I'm thinking he's pretty lucky, because it sounded like this guy knew what he was doing, so I don't know if he moved or flinched or whatever.</s>COLLINS: Sure.</s>STRATTON: But thank God, whatever it was, because it could have been a lot worse. And then he went down and from after that, he just -- from what he described, it sounded like for an 18-year-old boy from Idaho, he saw, you know, quite a bit of action and said he saw people dying and dead and it was pretty horrible for him, I know that.</s>COLLINS: Well, none of us can begin to imagine what your son saw and what the rest of the victims went through, but I know that the rest of the country is certainly appreciating today everything that they have offered, already, to the service of their country and our thoughts and prayers are absolutely with your son and the rest of the victims. George, let me ask you, will you be going to Fort Hood soon to be with your son?</s>STRATTON: Yes. Well, we definitely want to go down to Texas, but I'm also waiting to hear, you know, if we'll be able to because -- you know, because of the circumstances of the situation. I'm sure the army wants to talk to everybody and...</s>COLLINS: Yes.</s>STRATTON: ... I don't know when they're going to make him available. But as soon as I find that out, we probably would. I mean, the only other thing that I could comment about it is, is that I hope that they take a really good look at these boys, you know, especially the ones that have never been down range and make sure that, you know, they're going to be able to mentally handle it. Because I think seeing the action...</s>COLLINS: Yes.</s>STRATTON: ... that these guys saw, they should really look and decide whether they should send these -- deploy these guys now or not. You know the ones that were involved in this shooting because they could have PTSD. So I mean, I don't know how he is mentally, but I -- you know, I'm hoping for the best. He's a pretty strong kid, so I think he'll be all right.</s>COLLINS: Understand that there are already counselors, of course, and psychiatry that there is on post and that already we have heard from the commander on the base, General Cone, saying that absolutely that mental health counseling will be very much available and emphasized for these soldiers who were there and experienced all this. George Stratton, certainly do appreciate your time this morning. The father of George Stratton III who is now in the hospital and has been wounded in these tragic events. Thank you so much. Our thoughts are with your son this morning. Yesterday's attack raises troubling issues for the military on many levels, from on-post security to the emotional strain of wartime. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is with us now to take a closer look at all of this. So, Barbara, first off, tell us the latest that you're hearing on the military's investigation. They're going to be working in conjunction with other organizations to get more information in all of this, obviously.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Right, Heidi. Our understanding this morning is it is the army's criminal investigative division, the CID, that is leading the investigation, but certainly in cooperation with the FBI and other federal civilian law enforcement authorities. Dozens of agents now on the ground at Fort Hood looking at this entire situation, combing through the records, trying to determine what went on and were there any, you know, signals or missed signals about Major Hasan and his activities, no...</s>COLLINS: Hey, Barbara, quickly, how unusual is that, working with the FBI? I think people are aware that -- of course, that the military has their own court system, has their own attorneys and so forth. Can you speak to that, just a bit?</s>STARR: Well, this is really quite an extraordinary situation, Heidi. The base is huge, 50,000 people. Multiple victims here, dozens of victims. So while the military has a very considerable investigative capability, as General Cone said yesterday, they wanted to call in federal law enforcement authorities and make sure that they got it right -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: Yes, understood. And I know that you, personally, have spent time at Fort Hood actually in this building where it all took place yourself. Tell us a little bit more about the facility there, if you could.</s>STARR: Sure. This is a building, as everyone has explained, where soldiers process in and out going to and from the war where they do all the paperwork that they need to do. I want to go back to what Mr. Stratton, whose son is a victim, just said a couple of moments ago. Because that is what you find at Fort Hood. Young soldiers, 18, 19 years old, on their very first tours of duty.</s>COLLINS: Right.</s>STARR: Just -- for the first time being away from home. And those veterans who may be doing their third, fourth, or fifth tours of duty. This is a post where there is a wide range of military experience. This is a post like many army installations that has paid a very heavy price for the war. Numerous fatalities, killed in action, combat stress has been an issue, suicides have been an issue, but let's be very clear, Heidi, those are the people who are the victims of this crime. This has nothing to do with the crime that we know of at the moment. It is the...</s>COLLINS: That's right.</s>STARR: It is this post that has gone to such considerable lengths to -- pardon me, to offer mental health counseling to troops when they come back from the war and maybe troubled or troops who feel they're troubled and want to get that type of counseling -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: Yes, and it's a great point to be making and we'll continue to talk more about that as we go on this morning. Barbara, we're going to talk with you again next hour as well. And again, mentioning the size of this fort, it's immense. We did some research and it's bigger than New York City. It's bigger than Chicago, it's bigger than Philadelphia. A lot of people there processing in and out. So there'll be many different things to be looking at in all of this. We sure do appreciate your time right now, Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent this morning. And of course, we'll continue to follow the story. The very latest on the victims and the investigation all morning long. We've got other big stories to tell you about too this morning. I want to get to some of them now. Health care reform plan, as you know, close to a final vote in the House. And also, new jobless numbers out this morning. The rate rising to a level not seen in a very long time.