>> breaking news. fort hood, texas, tonight the scene of another deadly shooting, triggering evacuations and lock downs at and around america's largest military base. a scene similar to the situation that killed 13 people five years ago. now a community in sacral texas rocked by violence, yet again. hello, i'm libby casey, welcome

to al jazeera america, i'm filling in for john siegenthaler who is off. there are reports of as many as 14 wounded, those individuals are being transported to area hospitals. an order to shelter in place was issued and that still remains. we're awaiting a news conference from honolulu hawaii right now that's where defense secretary chuck hagel will brief the press about the shootings. joining me on the phone is sergeant major nicholas connor who is based at fort hood. hello. >> how are you libby. >> give us a sense of the environment right now. >> tell you libby that right now, fort hood remains in a lock down position. as we've asked our soldiers and

family members here on fort hood to shelter in lace. what that does -- place. what that does i is allows our people to go out and do the jobs they were trained for. >> are you actually on post? >> i am on fort hood right now. >> what do you think will happen next? do you have a sense of when people will move around? when things will finally calm down? >> that -- i think that's a question that everybody has right now. and what we're doing, i mean safety of our soldiers and our family members and civilians on fort hood is the number one priority of the commander. we're asking everyone to just remain patient, remain calm as we give our emergency crews the time and the space. and so we'll lift the -- we'll

lift that shelter in place requirement as soon as it's safe for our soldiers and their family members. >> all right, thank you major nicholas cono connor, stay with. lisa stark is live in washington, d.c. hello lisa. >> we just heard from president obama. we are waiting for the tape of the program. we understand that president obama was speaking to the pool, he was at a chicago steak house, they pushed the tables aside, the president stood by a black curtain with the american flag by his side, he said we are heartbroken to hear there is another shooting at fort hood. president obama saying he is following the situation closely there at the base and that he promises to get to the bottom of what has happened. the president also still indicating this situation still very fluid.

we believe that shelter-in-place order still in place at the base there in texas. and as you said, we are also waiting to hear from defense secretary chuck hagel. he is hosting a conference actually in hawaii and he was scheduled to give a news conference this evening at 8:00 eastern and he will no doubt be asked about the shooting. he has been informed also and is being kept apprised. we now have a new statement from texas senator republican ted cruz from texas. he says my prayers are with all the fort hood community that has been impacted by today's shooting including the first responders who have been actively working to move people out of harm's way and secure the area. he says his office will also continue to monitor what is going on there and to offer any assistance as necessary. again we are waiting to hear from secretary of defense hagel

and we have also heard from president obama saying he is heartbroken over what he is hearing about the shooting at fort hood and he is promising to get to the bottom of this. there will no doubt be a lot of questions from the president, from the military, for others to answer about how this could happen twice in five years, why procedures weren't in place to try ensure something like this could not happen again. obviously, this is a huge military base, and a lot of folks worked there. they come in with their -- if they're already badged to come in, they are just waved into the base, they are not searched. that was the situation here in the washington navy yard when the shooter brought his gun in, he had clearance to be on the base, he wasn't searched. but a lot of questions being raised consume about how this could happen twice in such a short time frame on this base.

libby. >> lisa stark, thank you in washington. let's bring in david katz, he's a global security analyst. hello david. >> hi, libby. >> tell me where you are? >> i apologize the quality of the audio, but iting briefed by your -- getting briefed by your staff. actually, because of people were in lock down, first responders, clearing the scene be sure there are no secondary shooter or other twices, posted on base. so i know as much as you mo. i'd be kind of -- know. i'd be kind of interested to know, the alert that i put out, that at the end of last week. >> we're having a little trouble with the audio, we'll try to get back to you in a bit.

let's move on now because we do have a sense of what it was like at fort hood this afternoon. a soldier at the base described the frantic scene as the shooting took place. >> whenever the shooting happened it was i believe 16:25 we were outside, training outside across the street. immediately heard four gun shots. we assumed it was just blank rounds training exercise across the street. however after the four round burst it was followed by another burst and another, it was clear they weren't blank rounds, they were live rounds. it was still very confusing, nobody was panicking, rushing, whoa, what is that, it doesn't sound right, we were oftenning soldiers fleeing, the motor pool jumping, there is a barbed wire fence about seven foot high, they were leaping over it, we knew something was wrong and then one of the soldiers who was

struck had climbed the fence and then the ambulance came after him and it was all really quick. all really fast. and as soon as we became aware it was a live shooter situation everybody was told to go and hide inside the building. >> a description from a soldier who is there. we go to brandon trutling, he has the latest. brandon. >> we are hearing reports from local affiliates, indicate dozen injured taken to local hospitals. a confirmed report here a soldier is dead, a lock down is still in place as investigators are trying to gather more information. fort hood has ordered everyone to shelter in place which acts as a lock down, telling people to close doors and stay away from windows. they issued this primarily through facebook and twitter to get the word out. local officials describe the

scene as very chaotic. you have law enforcement agencies are working to clear the scene of any more potential threats. this area very much still considered an active scene. as you said, we are inen route and working to gather more information. and as soon as we can we'll pass on whatever we can. >> an area of 340 square miles, full of military installations but also a community, people live there and experience their daily lives there and can have as many as 50,000 soldiers at any given time, in rotation serving at that post. so brandon, what is the community like? >> i worked in this area, near waco and covered stores in and around that area and as you mentioned, it is huge. smack dab in between waco and austin, not far from either one. as you said you have a big area, most just about everyone even in

colline have some tie or another, some people live on base, some people work in waco and commute in others work in colline which isn't too far away from fort hood. huge area big operation lot of people coming in and out of the base. so definitely you have people really keeping their ears and eyes on the situation, standing by trying to find out more. >> we're hearing some reports from the local hospitals, darnell hospital which is on post, also scott white hospital which is in temple. brandon i'm sure you'll be talking to people there trying to get a sense of if they're receiving victims and what's the situation. have you heard anything from hospitals yet? >> not heard anything now. i'm trying to gather what they're actually dealing with now. that information will be coming in slowly.

but we're keeping our ear to everything and as we hear more we'll pass that information along. >> as brandon said, social media spreading the word and giving us a sense of what members of congress and other officials are saying. we're still waiting to hear from defense secretary chuck hagel from hawaii and the president's words, whenever we can, and we do want to get to some other stories. you know money is more powerful than ever in american politics because of a new ruling in the supreme court. split along partisan lines, that could increase the influence of the wealthy. we go right to the supreme court with our mike viqueria. >> the supreme court on wednesday took another step towards giving wealthy donors a stronger influence in politics.

>> voting 5-4 conservatives on the court struck down, on the total amount that donors can give to federal candidates. before today that limit was $123,000. writing for the majority, john roberts. money and politics might seem repugnant to some. flag burning funeral protests and nazi parades, despite the spectacles. in the minority, justice stein n bryer, unlimited spending on, facings campaign finance laws. the decision leaves in place the 2600 limit on giving to an individual campaign. >> we'll be getting back to the

supreme court's decision but right now defense secretary chuck hagel. >> i'll give you folks a microphone so everyone can hear your question as well. mr. secretary. >> admiral, thank you and good afternoon. let me first thank admiral locklear and his team for their accommodations and for giving my colleagues and i from the asian countries the opportunity to come aboard and general robley, thank you, admiral greer, thank you and your team. this has been very informative and i know we have a lot to see, i want to thank you, for not only setting up this conference but what you do today. let me begin with a couple of

comments regarding what happened at fort hood, texas today, i just got off the phone with our senior leaders at the pentagon to get an update. i know there have been a number of reports out in the press.fort hood is still locked down. we are still getting reports, we know there are casualties both people killed and injured. woo don't have all the facts, it is still under investigation. our military has it as well as law enforcement. i understand the commanding general at fort hood, general milley will be holding a press conference. i have no additional facts or fugz other than what i have just told you. as we go along, as we get those

facts i'll share them with you. let me now make a couple of general comments about what we are doing here. and what our day has been like, and we've got another day tomorrow. i'll begin by thanking the asian defense ministers for their commitment to come here and be part of something i think is -- and i think they share my feeling, something that's important. we had an opportunity this morning to spend a couple of hours specifically focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, we had the usaid director dr. raj shaun in -- >> defense secretary chuck hagel. he did remark briefly about the

fort hood shooting that took mace. he himself is a military veteran, served in vietnam, spoke with both the authority of the defense secretary but also as a former soldier himself. we are awaiting the president's same. he did speak a sort while ago in chicago, waiting for that tape. meanwhile lisa stark is live in washington, d.c. lisa thanks for joining us. >> libby just to repeat what the defense secretary said, he said fort hood is still on a lock down, he said we are still fetting the facts but -- getting the facts but we know this is a tragedy and people have been killed and injured. he said he did not have any specific numbers but that obviously he has been in touch with his senior leaders in the pentagon and they are getting apprised of that.

martin dempsey says many questions still remain and the main effort is to support the victims and their families. he says this is a community that has faced and overcome crisis with resill yebs an resilience . the president spoke in chicago, he was there attending a dnc meeting at a chicago steak house. the pool was called back in. the president, tables had been cheered away, the president was standing in front of a black curtain with an american flag next to him. we have more of the president's statement now. he says he has been in touch with the defense department as well as his national security team and the fbi. they are working with the folks on the ground to try to determine exactly what happened there at the base in texas. he said he wanted to assure everyone that we will get to the bottom of this. he said of course any shooting is troubling, but this so much

so because it reopens the wounds of what happened at fort hood five years ago. he said we know these families. we know the service to their country. and the sacrifices they have made. many of have multiple tours of duty in iraq and afghanistan. of course, there they expect to face gun fire. they don't expect to face it nor should they, these are my words, not the president's i should say, when they come back home to their base. he says -- oh go ahead sorry. >> it is reminiscent of what happened five years ago when major nadal hasan shot, opened fire on a roomful of americans and the president had to once again at that moment make unexpected remarks, address the nation, and talk about that. are you feeling like this has the same sort of tone to it? might we expect to hear the president use the same kind of language as we hear from him

tonight? >> i mean he says we are heartbroken. and obviously, we are heartbroken for what the people there are going through. we don't know the toll yet. we know there are folks injured, there are reports of deaths, at least one, perhaps the shooter. so this is another tragedy for people who, five years ago, had to go through this. and at that time, libby, 13 were killed, horrible, horrible toll. i believe it was the deadliest shooting on a u.s. military base at that time, 13 killed. and 32 injured. the shooter was brought down by gun fire, from authorities. he was paralyzed, in fact, and has now been sentenced to death for those shootings at fort hood. there is a lot of controversy about whether that was a terrorist attack or was not. should it have been called one? and that controversy remains to this day. we will have to see -- we have no idea yet the identity of the

shooter during this rampage at fort hood. or what may have prompted it. and as the president said, he is determined to get to the bottom of what happened. there will be a lot of questions about how this could happen again. how this base and the people who live and work there, the tens of thousands of them could, once again, be so vulnerable and face someone with a gun who wanted to do them harm. it really is a horrible situation. we heard from some families earlier just how nerve wracking that is, both those who are on the base and those who are off sheltering in place wondering when they will know about their loved ones and wondering what is going on, on that base? and we are waiting to get the actual tape of the president's remarks. he did make somewhat lengthy remarks really and did say also the people at their home base they do need to feel safe.

and the president said we don't know what happened but obviously the sense of safety has been broken, again. and there will be very, very -- very, very troubling questions about how this could have happened again at this stage in texas. >> the secretary of defense is answering some questions, let's go back to hon lew and hear what he has to say. >> many departments of the middle east, wondering if the united states is a little bit moving off and away maybe from its friends in the middle east and partners over there and they have at least some concerned questions, what would you answer to had a? thank you very much. >> the way i would answer your question is the way i've answered it over the last year. the united states of america is not retreating from any part of the world. there's no indication of that. especially the middle east. we have a tremendous asset base

in the middle east. we'll continue to honor our commitments to our participant in the middle east, just as we are in europe, to nato. the rebalance to asia pacific is one that has evolved over time that president obama initiated about three years ago. when you look at the realities of this region of the world, the greatest number, in fact, the three largest economies in the world are in asia pacific. and you go right down the inventory of metrics, this is, this is going to be and is now a hugely important part of the world. not that other parts of the world are not important. but a country, united states is always reassessing their deployment -- >> to get the latest report on the situation in fort hood. obviously, we're following it

closely. the situation is fluid now. my national security team is in connection with not only the military but the fbi to make sure everybody is secure and i want to just assure all of us that we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. you know, any shooting is troubling. obviously, this reopens the pain of what happened at fort hood five years ago. we know these families, we know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. obviously, our thoughts and prayers were is -- are with the entire community and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the community at fort hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation.

so any potential aftermath. we're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again. and i don't want to comment on the facts until i know exactly what has happened. but for now, i would just hope that everybody across the country is keeping the families and the community at fort hood in our thoughts and in our prayers. the folks there have sacrificed so much on behalf of our freed freedom, many of the people there have been through multiple tours in iraq and afghanistan. they served with valor and they served with distinction. and when they're at their home base they need to feel safe. we don't be yet know what happened tonight -- we don't yet know what happened tonight but obviously that sense of safety

has been broken once again and we're going to have to find out what happened. the pentagon will undoubtedly have further broaftion for you as we -- briefings for you as we get more detailed about what happened. thanks everybody. >> president obama in statements recorded just a little while ago this evening in chicago where he was at a fund raiser. he did come back out they reassembled the pool so he could make those remarks and lisa stark joins us in washington, d.c. lisa, the president saying any shooting is troubling but he really emphasize this is especially significant because it is happening on a military base where america's men and women serve and fort hood, the base that survived an attack five years ago, killing as you mentioned earlier 13 people. president obama also talking about how our soldiers should feel safe in their own homes, lisa. >> absolutely.

and he does promise to get to the bottom of this. there's always a postmortem of course when you have a tragic event like this. there were holes that were discovered in how military contractors, for example, are vetted. and their security clearances after the shooting mere here in washington, d.c -- here in washington, d.c. and questions will be raised what if anything was missed at fort hood, once they figure out who the shooter was, they will have to figure out were there signals that were missed, were there things obvious that should have been caught as some felt was the case with the shooter in the washington, d.c. navy yard. and the president though tonight, although saying he wants to get to the bottom of this and will get to the bottom of this, and by the way secretary of defense chuck hagel making the same comment that we will have to look and see what happened, he did say we are

learning lessons from the washington, d.c. shooting and will have to learn from this one as well. but mainly the president's tone talking about how heartbreaking this is for soldiers who have performed overseas who have been in harm's way for their country, in iraq and afghanistan, to come home and have to face this in the u.s. in the place where they work and the place where they live with their families, it is truly heartbreaking. and the president indicating tonight that really this opens old wounds at fort hood, especially truly a tragedy there. libby. >> in addition to the president speaking defense secretary chuck hagel being asked by the press, when we have these tragedies on the bases something is not working. lisa stark, joining us from washington, d.c. next up much more on the sheeting at fort hood texas, and we'll turn our attention to shifting through the debris, chile's 8.2 magnitude earthquake.

and floodwaters receding. rescuers are finally able to expand their search at the mudslide site in washington state.

>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm libby casey. we've got a lot to cover in this half hour. we're continuing to follow the breaking if you out of fort hood, texas, at least one person killed. just a few moments ago defense secretary chuck hagel talked about the incident. >> fort hood is still locked down. we are still getting facts.

it's it is a terrible tragedy we know that. we know there are casualties, both people killed and injured. we don't have all the facts yet. we will get those, it is still under investigation. our military has it as well as law enforcement. >> president obama addressing what happened this evening, at a fund raiser in chicago. >> many of the people there have been through multiple tours in iraq and afghanistan. they served with valor and they served with distinction. and when they're at their home base they need to feel safe. we don't yetno happened tonight but obviously, that sense of safety has been broken once again. >> president obama saying, it's heartbreak to hear that this has happened at fort hood, the scene of a shooting five years ago.

in other news a new ruling by the supreme court lifts many of the restrictions on how much people can spend on political campaigns. some call it a sequel to the citizens united decision in 2010, that limits spending on corporations and unions. juan carlos molina looks at what it could mean for upcoming elections. >> reporter: the ruling by the supreme court today will allow cps political action committees. >> this calls into question the entire notion of limits. through a variety of entirely legal pass-through mechanisms an individual could essentially donate millions of dollars directly to a candidate. and that means that the sort of wall between coordination and the wall between donors and milmilkspolitipoliticians.

>> even more money going into the political medicine in 2014 and beyond. good it's unquestionable this will lead to more corruption. corruption follows the monday you see more money and you follow the corruption. >> the citizens united in 2010 led to a record flow of money in the congressional and presidential elections, just over $7 billion. almost a 50% increase from 2008 and more than double the 2000 election cycle. but all that cash doesn't necessarily mean a win on election day. casino mogul sheldon edelson and

his wife supported political candidates and most of them lost. >> people like sheldon edelson are and not necessarily be interested in donating millions and millions and millions of dollars to one super-pac to give $5,000 to every candidate for a federal office, every presidential candidate and then around $30,000 to every political party. that could total over $3.5 million per donor in direct campaign contributions to candidates. >> reporter: those opposed to the ruling says there is a silver lining of sorts in this decision. all the money going directly to candidates and the parties will be more trackable since it has to be reported to the federal election commission. juan carlos molina, al jazeera. >> worried about how this ruling could change elections.

congressman paul tonko of new york says he is disappointed. >> i'm very discouraged with the outcome here. another 5-4 vote, which seems to be an overriding theme out of the supreme court. i see this as a sequel to citizens united. it removes those caps on aggregate amounts that individuals can give to federal campaigns. and certainly my concern here, most overriding concern is, are we going to displace government of the many by a government of the money? >> and the chief justice cited freedom of speech. and in his decision in the majority he wrote, if the first amendment protects flag burning funeral protests and nazi parades despite the profowns offense such spectacles cause, popular opposition. >> i hear that but an abuse of

rights can be just as dangerous as a disallowance of rights. and what you have here is an attempt or should have been an attempt to make certain that there are limits by which the influence can be felt. otherwise, you're selling seats in the house rather than campaigning for seats. and you won't have republicans and democrats assuming seats. you'll have paid for by deep pockets, assuming those seats. to have that influence of money in the system in such a profound way for a few, in the bulk -- against the bulk many of us is wrong. and i think it is fundamentally challenging the ideals and the principles of this government. >> in the last campaign cycle your campaign raised over $978,000, nearly $1 million. you took in over $400,000 from individual donors. what does it take to raise that

kind of money, what is that experience like? >> it is an awful lot of work. i can tell you i would much rather devote time to developing all the public policy that we can, instead you have to devote a certain amount of your day, searching for campaign contributions, in order to provide for the resources you need to share your message. >> congressman paul tonknko, thk you for joining us. >> a pleasure libby. >> good evening and thanks for being with us. you studied money and politics. who will really benefit from this, a particular party, a particular demographic in the running for office category? >> initially, republicans are probably going to be the top beneficiaries of this. i based it on the study we did in conjunction with some other

groups that showed in the 2012 election cycle the people who were maxing out candidates in political parties with the limited donations they could make in aggregate were republicans buy two-thirds margin. libby democrats can be smart to this. you can talk a lot to democrats, they are probably going to say that they think it's a horrible decision but they're going to be smart to this just as they were ultimately after the citizens united case. they are going to use this to their advantage as much as possible because effectively unilaterally disarming and let republicans do very well, raise money in a campaign in a situation they can do so. >> dave how significant is a change, what are we going to see in the mid term elections what is going to be different? >> just like your previous interviewee said, congress is spending an incredible amount of effort in campaigning, dialing

for dollars, trying to get people to donate to their campaign. so you can expect more of that in the 2014 cycle and of course going into the 2016 election cycle, you talk to political fund raisers, they say candidates should spend up to three to four hours a day fundraising. and they're not going to be calling poor people, they are going to call people with money. the case mccutcheon, he calling members of congress even more, to fill their coffers, so they can win in november. good in the aggregate not just what you give to one person but who you give across the country. how do you look at the landscape in terms of someone who is in las vegas or omaha, given to candidates all around the

country? >> if you are very wealthy and you may be a republican, a democrat, you may give even more. this goes beyond even election season. if you are donating millions of dollars to candidates all around the country regardless of where they are, people who you want to befriend and whose ear you want, that is going to give you a heck of a lot more power than you already have as a wealthy influential contributor. >> dave leventhall, thanks so much. in thank you libby. >> the president wants to increase federal wages from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. he signed an executive order requiring federal droors pay their employees at least that much and he called on congress to extend that benefit nationwide. >> they got to make a clear

choirs. talk the talk about valuing hard work and families or walk the walk and actually value hard work and families. you've got to a choice, you can give america the shaft or you can give it a raise. >> the president is attending two democratic fund raisers in chicago this evening. well, it was another tough day on capitol hill for the head of general motors. senators accused the company of trying to cover up an ignition defect that caused more than 2 million vehicles to be recalled. lisa stark reports from washington. >> very tough questions about whether general motors knowingly hid this defect that's now blamed for at least 13 deaths. the ceo, mary barra insisted that the new gm was going to do the right thing. lawmakers weren't necessarily buying it. >> this committee will come to order. >> confronted mary barra, about

why gm didn't start earlier. >> we didn't know how many people crashed because of this coverup. we know that many people died. >> swept the defect under the rug for more than a decade. ignition switches can sunlt turn off and leaving the vehicles without steering brakes air bags. >> we know this switch one that would have worked was the difference between life and death. and do you know the other difference? the other thing that we now know? that it would only cost $2 to repair. >> senators challenged general motors suggesting they put profits over people, deciding it was more cost effective to settle lawsuits than fix the part on millions of vehicles. >> do you know if gm ever used this kind of course benefit

analysis in its history? >> there were documents shared with me yesterday that if they were true if we go through the entire time line that it was completely -- >> i didn't ask you that. do you know if gm ever used this type of cost before analysis in its history do you know? >> it would be unacceptable. >> barra has been with general motors for 33 years but insisted she did not know about the cobalt issue before becoming kerry three months ago. >> woman to woman i am very disappointed. because the cul culture you are representing here is the culture of the status quo. >> did not tell anyone or change the part's serial number. >> we need to know whether you believe the company acted in the best interest of the consumers who bought your car and the u.s.

taxpayers who bailed you out? >> first of all i agree, it took way too long for this to come to the attention and to do the recall and we've admitted that. we've also apologized. >> but an apology is far different than what some are asking for. >> it's ready much incontrow vertable thaincontrovertible. that gm concealed it from the courts and the united states. >> general motors will reveal its version of what happened within the company, in regards to this defect, when it completes its own internal investigation, that's expected to be within the next two months. back to you. >> we take you now to the scott and white memorial hospital where they are holding a news conference mom aerial on the

fort hood shooting. a u.s. official speaking on the aspect of anonymity, several now being said dead by a u.s. official in the fort hood shooting. in other news, tensions between the u.s. and russia are reaching into space. nasa said today it's suspending most interactions with russia. officials are calling russia's actions in crimea an ongoing violation of ukraine's sovereignty, the suspension includes travel and visits to nasa facilities, russian space ships provide the only mode of transportation for astronauts to and from the station. nato forces say they are ready to counter an increase of russian informs on ukraine's borders. trying to help ukraine ease its

dependency on russian oil stores. neave barker reports. >> a package of measures aimed at sending a powerful message to moscow. >> if russia were to intervene further in ukraine i wouldn't hesitate to call it an historic mistake. that would lead to further isolation, international isolation of russia. >> reporter: according to u.s. intelligence, russia has between 30 to 40,000 troops that could take hold of ukraine in three to five days. decided to increase its military presence in eastern europe. more aircraft will patrol the skies, more navy vessels will guard the seas. but the question now is how the

kremlin will respond. >> most likely by beating up its own forces on the corresponding side. and in bel belarus. >> after ramping up the gas imports by 40%. >> no nation should use, as a weapon, this in the interest of all of us to be able to have adequate energy supplies critical to our economies, critical to our security, critical to the prosperity of our people. >> in two weeks, nato will finalize a plan to keep russia at bay. for the alliance, defense starts with deterrence. neave barker, al jazeera, brussels. >> this is memorial hospital in texas. >> we so far have received three

patients who have been transferred that are here in our facility. we have three more that are en route, i'm sorry, we have had four patients that are actually here now, and two more that are en route. they've had a variety of injuries that we have been treating, ranging from gunshot wounds that involved extremities, neck wounds, chest and neck. these patients are receiving treatment right now and we are expecting two more to be arriving shortly. they have been transported by air and land. the two that are coming are preparing to go directly to the operating room in anticipation of some very needed surgery. we have all of our support staff have been activated and we have ample resources to take care of any other patients that need to be transferred over.

but at this time we don't anticipate additional patients be rferrepatientsbeing transfert hood at this time. we are prepared to answer any questions, if we can give you any additional information. >> those that are here now do you know their conditions? >> their conditions range from stable to quite critical. >> do you know if they were soldiers? >> i don't have that information, ma'am. >> how many men or how many women do you know? >> i can't even give you those specifics, i'm sorry. >> what about the rest of the people, were there a total of maybe 14. where are they? >> i have none of that information, ma'am. we accepted these patients transferred after they had been evaluated and taken care of over in colline at the fort. we didn't render any medicare at the scene or anything like that.

>> were any in 2009 in -- >> i was, ma'am, yes. >> (inaudible). >> i would say so, yes, there's a lot of unknowns early on and it creates some logistical problems how you plan for this event. we re routinely practice -- we routinely practice for mass casualty events. i'm pleased to report we were well prepared for that. it always takes a while to figure out how many people are coming and where they're coming from. we are amply staffed. well before any of these patients arrived. >> (inaudible). >> we run those every few months. it's been three or four months since we had our last one but it's a routine kind of thing that we prepare for. >> (inaudible) multiple gunshot

wounds? >> i honestly cannot tell you the exact extent of this, papacosentino could give you more information on that. >> there were individual gun shots, also some with multiple. >> can you (inaudible) numbers please. >> we were notified shortly after 5:00 there was a shooting that occurred at the fort. we opened up our facility in anticipation of this, we have had four patients transferred to our facility, two more are en route i understand right now, we were prepared to take them immediately to the operating room because they have very, very severe injuries. that is where we are at this

point. the conditions range from quite stable to critically injured. >> the two that are coming now, were they at another facility before they were brought over here? are they being brought over here? >> i believe they are being transferred immediately from the darnell emergency facilities. >> can you go over again what their injuries were? >> basically, it's a variety. injuries to the chest to the abdomen to the extremities and then an injury to the neck, on the various patients that we've seen. >> and you said these are soldiers or you don't know? >> we don't have any specifics at this time. >> okay. why were these patients transferred here? >> we're a level 1 trauma center. we actually have the resources, the capacity to take care of these critically injured patients. >> were the most critical patients brought here? >> as far as we know, yes. >> and i would anticipate with a large number of patients

arriving very short period of time the emergency facilities there were anxious to have some help quickly and we were available and they know that we're always open to help them out. >> i believe one of you is addressing someone was here, when this happened previously. >> we both were. >> (inaudible) do you know it happened again? >> my response was this is another sad day for central texas. >> some of these patients are probably brought from fort hood straight to here, have you been able to reach their families on base? >> we have not reached out. our media folks have made arrangements, there's a contact number for them and people are fielding some of those calls. i'm not aware if any of their family members have arrived here

yet though. >> you anticipate many of them are still on base? >> that their families are still on base? i would assume so. i really don't know the specific names and family relations that are over there. >> from the previous fort hood shooting, did you receive any injured from that incident? >> do you mean the -- did scott and white treat? we had quite a few patients -- >> i think we had 11, i'm not sure. i can't remember the exact number but it was quite a few, i remember that. >> you say the injuries are from stable to quite critical, do you know how many are quite critical? >> i can't tell you the exact number that are quite critical. >> a lot of the patients are

undergoing continual evaluation. so that that will change over the course of time, i'm sure. good and we will give an update probably in the next couple of hours, so we can give you more information about the more specific injuries. >> can you say why you don't expect any additional patients? >> that's the information that we're receiving right now is they're not anticipating they're going to transfer any more over. although i suspect that could change as well just depending on the conditions of the patients they're treating over there. >> and darnell (inaudible) in yes, ma'am. any other questions you for us? my last name is couchman c-o-u-c-h-m-a-n and i'm the chief medical officer for scott and white memorial hospital.

>> harry papacostanstino. p-a-p-a-c-o-s-t-a-n-t-i-n-o-u. i'm the chairman of the department of surgery. >> will there be any more information? >> we'll be back out around 9:30 or so and we'll give you an update on the first four patients that have come in and hopefully will have good news for you on the two that will be treated very shortly. >> the two are coming by air or land? >> i believe they're coming by air. >> does your command center made open? >> medical staff at scott and white hospital in temple texas. officials say they have four patients they are treating, two en route. conditions range from quite

stable to critical. president obama. >> any shooting is troubling. obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at fort hood five years ago. we know these families, we know their f credible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. obviously, our thoughts and prayers were -- are with the entire community and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the community at fort hood has what it needs. >> tragedy strikes again at fort hood, officials now say several people have been killed in a shooting at the texas army post. there is word that the shooter is dead and at least 14 people are injured. the situation on the ground is still fluid at this time. stay with al jazeera america throughout the night and we'll continue to follow developments out of fort hood. to bring you the details as they become available.

>> evey saturday, join us for exclusive, revealing, and suprizing talks with the most interesting people of our time. >> thinking differently is actualy punished... >> this saturday, is public education actually failing america? >> education is the biggest investment we make in our futures. >> but what are we really teaching our kids? >> i think it's a catastrophe that so many school disticts have cut arts programs back... >> could his reforms lead to happier, more fufilled lives. >> schools need to encourage the development of imagination... >> sir ken robinson talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america >> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm libby casey. here are the top stories. fort hood texas shooter opened fire at the military post and is

believed to be dead. in a brief statement, president obama said he is following the situation closely and said the government will get to the bottom of what happened. the supreme court has struck down limits on campaign contributions by a 5-4 vote. the decision is expected to increase the political influence of the wealthy and will impact the upcoming mid term elections. >> it is tragic that there has been a life lost and impacts from this event. >> general motors ceo underfire again on capitol hill. covering up an ignition defect now linked to 13 deaths. the ceo said an internal probe could take two months. nato's top commander says russia is prepared if the kremlin wants to invade eastern ukraine. russia does have enough troops

in place to carry out an incursion within three to five days. the nato chief says,000 troops are at ukraine's eastern and southern borders. those are the headlines. i'm libby casey. "america tonight" is up next. >> on "america tonight": breaking news. gun shots ring out again at fort hood, texas. grim reminders of a deadly tragedy there five years ago. also tonight: a predator's playground. dangerous online social circles your children should learn to avoid. our special series, your secret's out. we focus on every parent's worst nightmare. >> at that point i couldn't see straight and the tablet was melting from the fire coming out of my eyes. >> andvi