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Latest Updates on Shootings at Fort Hood

On Friday, The Lede is providing updates on the aftermath of Thursday’s deadly shooting spree at Fort Hood, the Texas Army base where 13 people were killed and 28 wounded by an Army psychiatrist facing deployment to Afghanistan. For an overview of the story, read Robert McFadden’s news article, “Suspect Was to Be Sent to Afghanistan.” James Dao has a profile of Major Nidal Hasan, the suspected gunman: “Suspect Was ‘Mortified’ About Deployment to War.” For more background, read Thursday’s updates on The Lede. Directly to the right on this page is a Times Twitter list incorporating feeds from local sources near the base.

Update | 9:45 a.m. A post on “Army Live,” the U.S. Army’s official blog, headlined “Keep Fort Hood in Your Hearts,” says “The flood of support we have seen through our social networking channels has been incredible.” The blog invites readers to “Check out www.facebook.com/usarmy or www.twitter.com/usarmy, and feel free to send your thoughts.”

Update | 9:42 a.m. In this video interview with CBS News on Friday morning, Gen. Robert Cone gave more details of how the shootings unfolded on Thursday — he also said that there were what he called “unconfirmed reports” that Major Nidal Hasan was shouting “Allahu akbar” (Arabic for “God is great”) during the shooting:

My colleague Liz Robbins has spoken with the family of one of the soldiers who was killed in Thursday’s rampage, a 21-year-old Army Private named Michael Pearson. A relative confirmed his death and said that his parents, Sheryll and Jeff, were trying to get some sleep after being up all night. Pfc. Pearson was the youngest of four children and joined the army a little more than a year ago.

According to a post on the news Web site ChicagoBreakingnews.com, his mother said on Friday that Pfc. Pearson was training to learn how to deactivate bombs and had joined the military because “He was working for a furniture company and felt like he wasn’t going anywhere.” She added:

He felt he was in a rut. He wanted to travel, see the world. He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country.

Mrs. Pearson also said that the family initially assumed their son was safe,

But as they were driving home about 6:30 p.m., they received a call on their cell phone from Mike’s sergeant at Ft. Hood. Mike, he said, had been shot three times–in the spine and chest. He said Mike had lost a lot of blood.

About 10 p.m., an Army surgeon called to say that Mike hadn’t made it. He said doctors had brought Mike back to life twice on the operating table but were unsuccessful the third time.

“His father is still in shock and very angry,” Sheryll Pearson said. “We’re all very angry.”

Update | 9:19 a.m. The Pentagon Channel, a Department of Defense broadcaster, has posted video on its Web site of Thursday’s two news conferences at Fort Hood, both featuring the base commander, Gen. Robert Cone, who said in the first briefing that the suspected gunman, Major Nidal Hasan had been killed, and then corrected that statement in the second briefing.