Servicemembers at Andrews react to Fort Hood attack
No base security changes planned, officials say
Service members stationed at Joint Base Andrews, many of whom have served with soldiers from Fort Hood, are waiting for more information on identities of victims after a deadly shooting Thursday, a base spokesman said.
"It's a tragedy, and it's one of your own it really took us all by surprise," said Capt. Christian Hodge, a spokesman with the 316th Wing at Andrews. "You think about the soldiers and their families and the senseless loss of life. We send our thoughts and prayers to their families."
The attack claimed the lives of 12 soldiers and one civilian and left 30 others wounded.
Ministry teams, grief counselors and other support groups from military installations across the country have been deployed to aid the Fort Hood community, but no one from Andrews has been tasked to date, Hodge said.
He said no changes are being considered at this time to base security policy.
In a statement Friday, Col. Steven M. Shepro, 316 Wing/Joint Base Andrews commander, said, "The Air Force places top priority on safety and security; Joint Base Andrews continually has robust measures committed to protecting its multi-service military and civilian personnel and their families."
Elissa Joyner, who lives in Woodbridge, Va., and works at a pharmacy on Andrews, said she thinks the security measures taken at Andrews are "very thorough."
"I still feel safe," she said. "It was a humbling experience, and it further validates how we have to stay focused and be aware of our surroundings."
Fort Hood, home to 40,000 soldiers, is the largest base in the country.
A lone shooter, believed to be Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, allegedly opened fire inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center on the base, according to reports from the U.S. Department of Defense. The soldiers inside the center were preparing for upcoming deployments.
The shooter used two handguns, one of which was a semiautomatic weapon, according to the department.
Hasan, a psychiatrist on the base whom Army officials say was scheduled to deploy overseas, is recovering at a nearby hospital after he was shot by a civilian police officer.
An FBI investigation is ongoing, the department reports.
E-mail Zoe Tillman at ztillman@gazette.net.