Iraq veteran shoots three dead, then self at Fort Hood base

Four military personnel were shot dead, including the shooter, and 16 injured, some seriously, at the US Fort Hood military base in Texas early Thursday. The commanding general said the motive was not known but at this time there was no connection to terrorism. President Obama: “We are heartbroken that shooting has happened at Fort Hood again.” The shooter was identified as 34-year-old enlisted Army soldier Ivan Lopez, a veteran of the Iraq war, who used a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol. He was described as under treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. More than 45,000 military personnel and 9,000 civilians serve at Fort Hood, the biggest military base in America. In 2009, a Muslim officer murdered 13 people at the same base.