By DPA,
Washington : A top US Army official confirmed Friday that the suspect in the killing of at least 13 people at a Texas army base likely shouted “Allah-u-Akbar” (God is great) before opening fire.
Army Lieutenant General Robert Cone, commander of the Fort Hood, Texas, base where the shootings took place Thursday, made the comment in answer to a question from NBC news.
Cone said “there are first hand accounts” to the effect that the suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, had yelled the Muslim religious chant.
NBC reported that the death toll has risen to 13, as one of the victims died overnight.
The 39-year-old suspect in the killings is a US Army psychiatrist described as a devout Muslim who opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was trying to resign from the army, according to media reports Friday.
Another 30 people were injured in the shootings, officials said Thursday.
Cone said Thursday that investigators, who now include the FBI, have not ruled out the possibility it was a terrorist attack, but said evidence indicated it was not likely.
He said the single shooter who was shot at multiple times was alive, in stable condition and in custody.
“His death is not imminent,” Cone said.
Two other soldiers who were taken into custody after the shooting, which took place at about 1930 GMT Thursday, were subsequently released.
“While this was a terrible tragedy, it could have been a lot worse,” Cone said.
President Barack Obama called the attack “tragic” and “a horrific outburst of violence”.
“It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas,” Obama said. “It is horrifying that they should come under fire on an army base on American soil.”
None of the victims was armed, Cone said. “We typically don’t carry weapons on the base. This is our home.”
The motive behind the attack that took place in a readiness centre, where soldiers are processed and medically examined before deploying overseas, was undetermined, Cone said.
Hasan was reportedly upset about his imminent deployment to Iraq and was opposed to the war there, CNN said. A US citizen of Jordanian descent, he was born in Virginia and had never been deployed outside the US.
He was single and lived alone. A statement released by his cousin, Nader Hasan, said that his family was “filled with grief for the families of today’s victims”, according to CNN.
“Our family loves America. We are proud of our country, and saddened by today’s tragedy,” the statement said.
Fort Hood, which lies about 95 km north of the Texan capital Austin, houses several units that have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More than 40,000 soldiers and their families live on the base.