13 DEAD, 30 WOUNDED AFTER SHOOTING AT FORT HOOD ARMY BASE

Officials say at least 13 people are dead and 30 are wounded after a gunman opened fire on the Fort Hood, Texas Army base Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Army originally said the shooter had been killed, but later said he had been apprehended alive. The gunman, 39-year-old Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was a psychiatrist who was about to be deployed to Iraq.

“He was making outlandish comments condemning our foreign policy and claimed Muslims had the right to rise up and attack Americans,” Col. Terry Lee, a retired officer at the base, told FOX News.

Two other suspects were reportedly apprehended along with Hassan.

Army officials said 11 soldiers and one civilian policeman were among those killed.

President Barack Obama called the shootings “a horrific outburst of violence” and said he had spoken to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and with the families of the fallen and those who live and serve at Fort Hood,” Obama said. “These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis. It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil.”

The shootings began around 1:30 p.m. at a personnel and medical processing office — roughly 30 minutes before a group of Army students were scheduled to graduate on the base.

A South Carolina resident stationed at Fort Hood experienced the entire ordeal from inside a building near the shootings. Robin Biro of Columbia wrote on his Facebook page that he was fine but that the high volume of phone calls was jamming up communications into Fort Hood.

“I’m getting a lot of phone calls and we need to keep the phone lines open,” wrote Biro, who is preparing for deployment to Iraq in the spring. “Texting is fine though.”

Individuals in the Waco area can donate blood at the Scott & White Memorial Hospital, which is where the victims are being treated. The hospital needs blood donations and more information can be found by clicking here.