According to the Associated Press, on Thursday November 6^th, a 39-year-old Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on Fort Hood Army post in Texas.  During this shooting, 12 people were killed and 31 were wounded, including several service members from Wisconsin, making this the worst mass shooting to ever take place on a military base.

The gunman was shot four times by a police officer ending the shootout, but is now in a stable condition at a hospital under military guard.   

Fort Hood is a 339-square-mile complex home to more than 52,000 soldiers.  The attack started shortly after lunch in the Soldier Readiness Center, an area that provides mental health, dental care, and medical care to soldiers before they are sent overseas.  It is one of the most populated parts of the base because of barracks and food centers in the area.

 Officials said Hasan opened fire with two handguns on soldiers waiting for appointments.

President Barack Obama was quick to condemn the shootings.

“It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas,” said Obama during a televised statement about the shooting.  “It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.”

Co-workers and law enforcement officials say there were red flags.  Retires Col. Terry Lee told Fox News that Hasan was against the U.S. being in Iraq and Afghanistan in the first place, and had told others “we should not be in the war in the first place.” 

Hasan had come to the attention of the authorities when he was linked to an Internet post that compared suicide bomber to soldier who dive on top of grenades to save fellow soldiers.  However, he was never directly linked to the posting, and no formal investigation had been opened, but a search warrant was being drawn up to authorize the seizure of Hasan’s computer.