Posted on 11/06/2009 5:30:04 AM PST by Saije
Witnesses to Thursday's massacre at Fort Hood said alleged shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was calm as he opened fire at a crowd of young soldiers, pausing only to reload before he was taken down by a female officer that many hailed today as a hero.
"It was very deliberate in his approach, they said that he was calm," Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the base commander at Fort Hood, told "Good Morning America" today. "Several soldiers shot multiple times and were recounting how they were shot."
The attacker killed 13 people, mostly military, and wounded 30. The Fort Hood Web site today addressed the tragedy with a line reading, "Friday is Day of Mourning! -- The duty day will begin no earlier than 0900."
Sgt. Salvatore "Rico" Sanchez told "Good Morning America" today that he treated a captain who was nearby when the shooting started. Covered with blood that wasn't his own, the captain escaped unscathed, with only a mild case of shock.
"According to the captain that I was treating, [Hasan] was sitting down and he just stood up out of nowhere and started shooting," Sanchez said.
As the sound of gunfire erupted, Sanchez said he heard people yelling to call 911 and "all kinds of cries for help."
Cone said wounded first responder Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who exchanged gunfire with Hasan and managed to shoot him four times despite being shot herself, put a stop to the carnage with her quick thinking and willingness to go head-to-head with the gun-wielding officer.
"She was quite effective, one of our most impressive young policemen," Cone said. "She walked up and basically engaged him. I think, certainly, this could've been far worse."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
So do you folks just want to do away with military courts all together?
The ends don’t justify the means.
Was he or was he not on the DHS Presidential Transition Team? Not that I expect the media to report it.
It doesn’t and that’s my point.
These people who want a trial in the Texas system are throwing away the military court awfully cheaply in my opinion.
That’s better than putting a bra and panties on him.....oh, yeah!!!!!!!
If a military court will result in life sentence, then I favor a nice speedy trial in Texas with a pretty much guaranteed death sentence. It’s the least he deserves.
Jihadists are usually calm when they kill in the name of Islam.
“Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who exchanged gunfire with Hasan and managed to shoot him four times despite being shot herself, put a stop to the carnage with her quick thinking and willingness to go head-to-head with the gun-wielding officer. “
She is a great American.
Alleged?
The way his short bio sounded, he may have had his own
We don't know that but we do know that unarmed soldiers are not effective soldiers. They are trained to cover, engage and return fire. With nothing to return fire with, their training doesn't do them much good.
But I'd withhold judgement until the we get all the facts. I think you'll find that the response was appropriate given the situation.
It is time to protest outside mosques? 912’ers and Tea Partiers?
As usual outlawing guns only insures the bad guys meet no resistance.
Yes, of course. You make a very thoughtful and valid point.
But I believe that "fighting back" is exactly what we should expect from a group of well-trained soldiers, whether they are armed or unarmed.
As I think about the matter, moreover, two scenarios come to mind:
First is the image of the firefighters and cops in New York on 9/11, who rushed into those burning infernos to save others, with little regard for their own safety. That kind of selfless, automatic response is how I think well-trained soldiers should respond to any emergency.
Second is the image of the cops in New Orleans during Katrina, who ran away and abandonned their posts in droves. I guess this second scenario of "instinctual" (to use your word) human behavior is what ruled the day at Ft. Hood. And this conclusion seems not to be a good commentary on the way some members of our military have been trained.
Probably running a few hogs through the front doors would empty them out!
He should be tried for treason and be shot by firing squad.
The good point is the federal death sentence is dependent upon the law of the state where the crime was committed. Texas is the best for that.
So is it worth helping liberals get rid of the military courts?
If a military court can’t try a military man who killed military personnel on a military reservation while in uniform, what point is it to have military courts at all?
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