Army psychiatrist under armed guard after killing 13

A military psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a gun rampage on a US army base was being held in hospital under armed guard today.

Armed with two non-military issue pistols, including a semi-automatic, Major Nidal Malik Hasan entered a station used to ready soldiers for deployment overseas at Fort Hood in Texas and started firing.

Within minutes, a dozen soldiers at the base were dead or dying in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the US.

At least 31 others – including two civilians – were injured in an attack described by President Barack Obama as a “horrific outburst of violence”.

Officials were trying to establish today what drove a military man to carry out such an act.

Retired Colonel Terry Lee, who worked with Hasan, claimed the major was anti-war and rowed with comrades who supported operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hasan, a 39-year-old from Virginia, was also due to be sent to Afghanistan, something family members said would have been his “worst nightmare”.

He was shot four times but survived and was being treated in hospital under armed guard.

Army spokesman Lieutenant General Bob Cone said he was on a ventilator and unconscious, but added: “I would say his death is not imminent.”

His cousin Nader Hasan described him as “a good American”.

He said the family was “shocked”, adding: “We just found out on the news that he was being deployed, he never even told us.

“We’ve known for the last four or five years that was probably his worst nightmare. He deals with stories, he would tell us how he would hear things, horrific things.”

Mr Hasan added that his cousin had also complained of being harassed by others in the military.

Hasan transferred to Fort Hood in July from Walter Reed Medical Centre, where he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official.

Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Maryland, said Hasan was a lifelong Muslim and attended prayers regularly, often in his army uniform.

Army officials refused to speculate on a motive as they began to investigate what could have driven the military mental health expert to go on the rampage.

But Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson said Hasan had aired grievances about being sent overseas.

Mr Obama met aides in the White House’s Situation Room after being informed of the incident.

The president said his thoughts and prayers were with the wounded and the families of the fallen.

He said: “It is difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil.”

The shootings began yesterday at around 1.30pm local time (7.30pm Irish Time) at Fort Hood’s readiness centre.

The Fort Hood compound – the US’s largest military base – was declared safe only five hours later.

Soldiers rushed to treat their injured colleagues by ripping their uniforms into makeshift bandages.

Video footage showed police patrolling the area with handguns and rifles, ducking behind buildings for cover.

Sirens could be heard while a woman’s voice on a public address system urged people to take cover.

Jerry Richard, 27, who works at the centre but was not on duty during the shooting, said: “Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can’t even defend yourself.”

Soldiers at Fort Hood do not carry weapons unless on training exercises.

The Rev Greg Schannep was about to attend a graduation ceremony when a man in uniform approached him, warning him that someone had opened fire.

“There was a burst of shots and more bursts of shots and people running everywhere,” said Mr Schannep, who works for local congressman John Carter.

The uniformed man who warned him ran to the theatre. Mr Schannep said he could see the man’s back was bloodied from a wound but he survived, was treated and will be fine.

Hasan, whose family said he was born in suburban Washington, is single with no children.

In 1997 he graduated with a degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech, scene of a mass shooting in 2007.

He was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps at college.