State of Emergency Lifted at Ft. Hood (Updated: Suspect Had Known Mental Health Issues)

Shortly before 9 pm local time, the state of lockdown was lifted at Ft. Hood, Texas.

34-year-old Army Spc. Ivan Lopez has been identified as the gunman who shot 14 on the base, killing three and then himself.

Lopez reportedly fired as many as 20 shots in a quick span of time, in or near the Medical Brigade building at the Army post. The military has not released the type of weapon Lopez fired.

An Army Specialist is an E-4; typically a soldier holding that rank has been in the Army more than two but less than 10 years, though soldiers joining who hold a degree can advance directly to E-4.

Ft. Hood is among the largest military installations in the US. It is one of the primary bases feeding units into Afghanistan, and Iraq during that war. Soldiers on the post are typically unarmed unless they are military police or civilian police contractors.

There is no known motive for the shooting at this time, but there may have been a dispute between soldiers that led to the shooting.

Update: The killer reportedly used a .45 caliber pistol.

Update: The suspect had known mental health issues, according to Ft. Hood’s commanding general, Lt Gen Mark A. Milley. The commander said that the suspect had served in combat. He also confirmed that the suspect used a Smith & Wesson .45 caliber semiauto pistol, purchased recently. He had arrived at Ft. Hood in February. Lt Gen Milley said that terrorism has not been ruled out, but there are no indications of terrorist involvement at this time.

The suspect served a four-month tour in Iraq in 2011, had not been diagnosed with PTSD, but had self-reported a traumatic brain injury. He was undergoing mental health treatment for depression and anxiety that included medications.

A female military police officer stopped the suspect before he killed himself.