FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped
overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the United States.

The gunman, first said to have been killed, was wounded but alive and in stable condition under military guard, said Lt. Gen.Bob Cone at Fort Hood. "I would say his death is not imminent," Cone said. Col. Ben Danner said the suspect was shot at least four times.

The man was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old, eight-year veteran from Virginia.

President Barack Obama called the shooting at the Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening, "a horrific outburst of violence."

"It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas," the commander in chief said. "It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."

There was no official word on motive. Hasan had transferred to Fort Hood in July from Walter Reed Medical Center, where he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said. Their identities, and the identities of the dead, were not immediately released.

Hasan was single with no children. He graduated from Virginia
Tech, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor's
degree in biochemistry in 1997. He received his medical degree from
the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
in Bethesda, Md., in 2001 and was at Walter Reed for six years for
his internship, residency and a fellowship.

Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions,
but no others were locked down.

Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty
armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as
of earlier this year, it is located halfway between Austin and
Waco.