Published: November 06, 2009 11:01 pm      

Local soldier survived Fort Hood shooting

Before the news of the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting rampage hit the TV news Thursday, William Hamrick had already been told of the horrific event by his son, Pfc. Scott Hamrick, who witnessed the attack.

“Right when it started, my son called me and said, ‘I’m OK,’ before it was even on the news,” William Hamrick, a 16-year Army veteran, said Friday afternoon from his home in Miami, north of Kokomo.

“I was worried, scared,” William said. “He saw everything. He said he was dodging bullets and he called me every time he made it to cover to let me know he’s all right.”

The shooting spree left 13 dead and 30 wounded.

It began Thursday as some 300 soldiers lined up to get vaccinations and vision testing at a Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. Nearby, others were lining up in commencement robes for a ceremony to celebrate troops and families who had recently earned degrees.

William said his son, who is a mental specialist with the Army Reserves, just arrived at Fort Hood last week and was getting ready to be deployed to Iraq along with Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the shooter.

“His unit is out of Indy and he was deploying with a unit from Topeka, Kan.,” William said. “It’s pretty bad when he’s getting fired at in this country before he’s even deployed.”

Hamrick’s son said the shooter started his rampage in the building next to his and chased everybody outside.

“[Scott] said he locked the door and left out the other way. He said there were five people killed in his unit — some he knew.

“He said they were in lockdown until [Friday morning] and things are getting back to normal. He sounded a little shaken up by it still since people from his unit he knew died.”

With his other son, Eric, a Calvary scout in the regular Army already in Iraq, William said he worries about both sons’ safety even more now.

“I’m a little more worried now,” he said. “I was in the Army for 16 years. You raise your hand and do what you’re told. Hell, he could have got killed before he left.”

According to The Associated Press, all but two of the injured were still hospitalized as of Friday evening, and all were listed in stable condition.

Investigators were trying to piece together how and why Hasan allegedly gunned down his comrades in one of the worst mass shootings in history on an American military base. His motive wasn’t known, but some who knew Hasan said he may have been struggling with a pending deployment and faced pressure in his work with distressed soldiers.

When the gunfire subsided, soldiers described a scene that looked like a war zone: too many wounded to count, shells and blood on the floor, and comrades ripping off their clothes to make tourniquets to keep the injured alive. One woman, suffering from a wound to the hip, carried another victim to get help.

“You had people without tops on. You had people ripping their pant legs off,” said Sgt. Andrew Hagerman, a military police officer from Lewisville, Texas.

Hagerman arrived at the scene minutes after the shooting stopped. When he entered the building, he kept his head down to avoid stepping in the pools of blood or kicking any spent shell casings.

The gunman was struck four times by a civilian police officer who also was wounded herself. Authorities said Kimberly Munley fired on the suspect just three minutes after the gunfire began, and base officials said her efforts ended the crisis. Munley was recovering Friday at a hospital and was in stable condition.

“It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer,” Cone said.

Hasan reported for duty at Fort Hood in July, after working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for six years. Though Hasan apparently had problems at Walter Reed, officials at the Fort Hood hospital said they weren’t aware of any issues with his job performance.

One of Hasan’s bosses praised his work ethic and said he provided excellent care for his patients.

“Up to this point I would consider him an asset,” said Col. Kimberly Kesling, deputy commander of clinical services at Darnall Army Medical Center.

An imam from a mosque Hasan regularly attended said Hasan, a lifelong Muslim, was a committed soldier, gave no sign of extremist beliefs and regularly wore his uniform at prayers.

Villa, who recently moved next door to Hasan, said she had never spoken to him before he came over to her apartment.

She said Hasan gave her frozen broccoli, spinach, T-shirts and shelves on Wednesday, then returned Thursday morning and gave her his air mattress, several briefcases and a desk lamp. He then offered her $60 to clean his apartment Friday morning, after he was supposed to leave.

Someone who used to work with Hasan said he had expressed some anger about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Retired Col. Terry Lee told Fox News said Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.

But another neighbor said Hasan appeared to be OK with his pending deployment, which he said was supposed to be to Afghanistan.

“I asked him how he felt about going over there, with their religion and everything, and he said, ‘It’s going to be interesting,”’ said Edgar Booker, a 58-year-old retired soldier who now works in a cafeteria on the post.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.