URGENT: Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, Kills 13, Wounds 30, During Shooting Rampage at Fort Hood, Texas

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was identified as the gunman who went on a shooting rampage that killed 11 and wounded 31 at Fort Hood today.  Hasan, who is still alive and hospitalized, is 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. Two other soldiers have been detained. Ten of the other deceased were also soldiers, with the remaining casualty a civilian police officer who was working as a contractor on the base.

Hasan is of Jordanian descent. There will, undoubtedly, be some backlash against the Arab world, there are some ideological issues seeping out. He reportedly shouted out "Allahu Akbar" before he started shooting. His home was raided last night by law enforcement. I am glad that he did not die, but will stand before a military court for these unspeakable acts against his fellow soldiers. He was going to be deployed to Iraq and was quite upset about that. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech University, 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. He worked at Darnall Army Medical Center, which is in Fort Hood. At one time he served at Walter Reed Army Hospital. This is just tragic and a horrific burst of violence. 

It is being reported that he had two handguns. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said she was told that the soldiers at the readiness facility "were filling out paper processing to go to Iraq or Afghanistan." Before Thursday's shooting, he reportedly gave away all of his furniture along with copies of the Koran to neighbors.

Fort Hood is adjacent to Killeen, and 60 miles northeast of Austin. The complex is home to at least 4,929 active duty officers and 45,414 enlisted and it employs nearly 9,000 civilians. This is a shocking turn of events and the situation is still fluid.