Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Spring Membership Drive


Donate now to support local news and music on WBOI

President Obama On Shooting: 'We're Heartbroken'

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

There has been a shooting at Fort Hood Military Base in Texas. What we know is that one person is confirmed dead and 14 are injured. We've heard an identification of the shooter. We'll have that in a moment. This is the same military base that was the scene of a shooting rampage in 2009 in which 13 people were killed. President Obama spoke a short while ago about today's events.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again. And I don't want to comment on the facts until I know exactly what has happened. But for now, I would just hope that everybody across the country is keeping the families and the community of Fort Hood in our thoughts and in our prayers.

SIEGEL: We're joined now Kate McGee of member station KUT in Austin. She's at the base at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, and joins us now. And, Kate, what can you tell us about the shooting?

KATE MCGEE, BYLINE: Well, Robert, at a press conference moments ago, the hospital officials at the Baylor Scott & White Center said there were four injured and two on route to their hospital. They were not IDing whether or not these people were soldiers. And I've heard there are 14 total injured. There's injuries to the extremities, the abdomen, the neck. We're, right now, at the Fort Hood - the entrance of the base where a press conference is being set up right now. We're waiting to hear from officials to get more information on what happened here today. We'll go from there.

SIEGEL: Still very vague, but NPR has been able to confirm the identity of the shooter. The name is Ivan Lopez I gather. And he was a military truck driver. Do we know anything else about him?

MCGEE: Not at this time. The press conference has not begun, and they have not identified the shooter here. They will give more information once officials are able to get ahead of the military base and give more information.

SIEGEL: Kate, all of us, of course, are thinking back on the terrible shooting a few years ago at Fort Hood. What is the scene at the base now? What are people doing?

MCGEE: Well, there's not many people moving around. Once the shooting had occurred, the Fort Hood officials told people on base to shelter in place and have kept that in place throughout the afternoon and only letting essential personnel in and out of the base at this point. And essential personnel - everyone who was leaving the base were being searched by military officials. But shelter in place for residents is still under effect. There was one wife here outside the military base who was not being allowed back in. At the visitors' center, there were - you see Army officials waiting to try to get back inside because they weren't letting anyone in at that point. So it's a lot of waiting to kind of get more information and see what's next here at Fort Hood.

SIEGEL: OK, well, we look forward to hearing more information. Thank you, Kate.

MCGEE: Thank you, Robert.

SIEGEL: That's KUT's Kate McGee talking to us about the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. At least one person is dead, 14 wounded. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.