Fort Hood/Texas (USA): A US soldier opened fire on a military processing center at Fort Hood in Texas on Thursday, killing 12 people and wounding 30, officials at the Army base said.
The gunman also was shot at by emergency personnel but is reportedly stable though injured.
The shootout happened around 1330 hrs (local time) CT, Col. Benton Danner told CNN.
Two other soldiers who were detained have been released, but another person of interest is in custody, said Christopher Haug, chief of public affairs at Fort Hood.
The gunman, slain by emergency personnel, was identified as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Licensed in Virginia, Hasan was a psychiatrist who previously worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center but more recently was practicing at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, according to professional records.
A federal official said Hasan is a US citizen of Jordanian descent, though the source was uncertain whether he was born in the United States.
Hasan was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq "and appeared to be upset about that," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said.
"I think that there is a lot of investigation going on now into his background and what he was doing that was not known before," Hutchison said.
At least 10 of the other dead also were soldiers, while one was a civilian police officer who was working as a contractor on the base, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said.
More than one shooter may have been involved, officials said. Haug said gunman who was killed was "the only one that we know for sure opened fire."
The primary shooter had two weapons, both handguns, Cone said.
Hutchison said she was told that the soldiers at the readiness facility "were filling out paper processing to go to Iraq or Afghanistan," according to CNN affiliate KXAN in Austin, Texas.
The readiness center is one of the last stops before soldiers deploy. It is also one of the first places a soldier goes upon returning to the United States.
The Army has asked the FBI to look into the background of the suspects, Cone said.
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A senior officer who was playing golf on Thursday about 2.5 miles from the attack said he witnessed the arrest of one of the two surviving suspects.
Shortly after the shooting, military police told him to clear the course, and he saw other MPs surround the building that held the golf carts, he said. He ducked into a nearby house for cover as 30 to 40 cars carrying MPs approached, he said.
A woman who lives on base, about eight blocks from the shooting, said she and her daughter were at home when her husband called and told them to stay inside.
"And I asked him why, what was going on. He said that there was a shooting," said the woman, Nicole, who asked that her last name not be used. She said her husband called her back about 20 minutes later and told her to go upstairs, stay away from doors and windows and keep the doors locked.
"It's just been crazy," she said. "Sirens everywhere."
A soldier who asked not to be identified told CNN that an e-mail went out to all base personnel instructing them not to speak to the media.
President Obama called the shootings "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence." He expressed his condolences for the shooting victims.
"These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk, and at times give, their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis," Obama said. "It's 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."
Officials at Fort Hood, which is the Army's largest US post, were asking people there to stay away from windows, CNN affiliate KXXV said. The incident took place at the sports dome, now known as the soldier readiness area, the station reported.
On the Fort Hood Web site, the word "closed" is posted with the statement, "Effective immediately, Fort Hood is closed. Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 per cent accountability of all personnel."
Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, posted an online appeal for blood as it began receving victims. "Due to the recent events on Fort Hood, we are in URGENT need of ALL blood types," it said.
Fort Hood, with about 40,000 troops, is home to the Army's 1st Cavalry Division and elements of the 4th Infantry Division, as well as the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 13th Corps Support Command. It is located near Killeen, Texas.
The headquarters unit and three brigades of the 1st Cavalry are currently deployed in Iraq.
At least 25,000 people are at Fort Hood on any given day, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon said.
Fort Hood is home to the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome combat stress issues.
In June, Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, told CNN that he was trying to ease the kind of stresses soldiers face. He has pushed for soldiers working a day schedule to return home for dinner by 1800 hrs (local time), and required his personal authorisation for anyone working weekends. At the time, two soldiers stationed there had committed suicide in 2009 -- a rate well below those of other posts.
Nearby Killeen was the scene of one of the most deadly shootings in American history 18 years ago when George Hennard crashed his truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and began shooting, killing 23 people and wounding 20.
Hennard's spree lasted 14 minutes. He eventually took his own life.
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