US 'grieving' after army shooting

US President Barack Obama has said the "entire nation" is grieving after a shooting that killed 13 people at a Texas army base.

He said he had ordered all flags at the White House and other Federal buildings to be flown at half staff until Veterans Day on 11 November.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a US-born Muslim and army psychiatrist, opened fire at Fort Hood on Thursday.

He was due to be deployed soon to Afghanistan, a military official said.

Family members said Mr Hasan was strongly opposed to the deployment.

Mr Obama cautioned against "jumping to conclusions" and said the motives for the shooting were being investigated.


MAJOR NIDAL MALIK HASAN
US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan
Born in US to Palestinian parents
Joined the army and trained to be a psychiatrist
Treated soldiers returning from combat zones
Described as a devout Muslim
Said to have been unhappy about imminent overseas deployment

Profile: Major Nidal Malik Hasan

"What we do know it that their families, friends and an entire nation are grieving right now for the valiant men and women who came under attack yesterday," he said on Friday.

The shooting began at about 1330 (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a personnel and medical centre at Fort Hood - the largest US military base in the world, home to about 40,000 troops.

The commander of the base, Lt Gen Robert Cone, told NBC News that, according to eyewitnesses, Mr Hasan had shouted the Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar!" [God is great] before opening fire.

He was shot four times during the attack and is currently being treated in hospital under armed guard.

The policewoman who shot him first - named as Kimberly Munley, 34 - was among those wounded.

'Could have been worse'

A picture is beginning to emerge of the suspect, a psychiatrist who was transferred to the Texas base in July.


SHOOTINGS AT FORT HOOD
fort hood map
Shooting started at 1330 local time at Soldier Readiness Processing Center in Fort Hood, the world's largest US military base


Timeline: Fort Hood shootings
Reaction: US base shootings
In pictures: Fort Hood shootings

Reports suggested that he had been increasingly unhappy in the military and that his work at his previous post - Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC - had been the subject of concern.

His cousin told US media that Maj Hasan had been opposed to an imminent deployment overseas, describing it as his "worst nightmare".

He also said that Maj Hasan had been battling racial harassment because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity".

A fellow Fort Hood soldier told the BBC that the incident could put pressure on Muslim American soldiers.

"It kind of puts a negative light on them and makes people distrust them because everybody is going to look at them [and think]: 'Well, you're probably going to pull something like this'," the soldier said. "And it's a sad fact that that will happen."

The New York Times said the FBI had been investigating internet postings by a man called Nidal Hasan that appeared to back suicide bombings - but said it was not clear whether it was the suspect.

Gen Cone said a graduation ceremony for a group of soldiers was taking place nearby at the time of the shooting.

"Thanks to the quick reaction of several soldiers, they were able to close off the doors to that auditorium where there were some 600 people inside," he said.

"As horrible as this was, I think it could have been much worse."