The US has released the list of victims, six of them in their twenties, who were killed in the horrific shooting spree at the country’s largest military base in Texas.
US military psychiatrist Maj Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire on Thursday at the Fort Hood military processing centre, killing 13 persons and severely injuring 38 others before being shot and captured.
“These heroes are so much more than simply names,” said Col. John Rossi, deputy commander of the post, announcing the identities of the victims, who ranged from a pregnant soldier to a newlywed.
“I ask that you remember them all,” Mr. Rossi said.
The victims ranged in age from 62 to 19. One of the victims was lieutenant colonel and five were involved in providing medical services to soldiers.
The gunman Hasan remains in critical condition and has not regained consciousness, base officials said.
A memorial service has been scheduled for Tuesday at Fort Hood, which would be attended by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama among others, White House sources said. Details of the trip were yet to be made public.
Immediately after the massacre, Obama asked all Americans “to keep the men and women of Fort Hood in your thoughts and prayers.”
“We will make sure to get answers to every single question about this horrible incident,” Obama said.
The list of victims included: Michael Grant Cahill (62), Major L Eduardo Caraveo (52), Staff Sgt Justin M DeCrow (32), Capt John P Gaffaney (56), Spc. Frederick Greene (29), Spc. Jason Dean Hunt (22), Sgt Amy Krueger (29), Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka (19), Pfc. Michael Pearson (22), Capt Russell Seager, (41), Pvt Francheska Velez (21), Lt Col Juanita Warman (55), and Spc. Kham Xiong (23).
Meanwhile, former President George W Bush and his wife Laura visited wounded soldiers and their families at Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night.
Mr. Bush’s spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood’s military leaders and hospital staff for the “amazing care they are providing.”
Gov. Rick Perry on Saturday visited survivors of the Fort Hood massacre and praised their resiliency.
“What I heard time after time in those hospital rooms was that its their honour to be able to serve our country, and that is a very humbling thing to watch a young man or woman whose life has been irreparably harmed in a violent act, yet their concern and their interest is in continuing to be able to serve this country,” Mr. Perry said at a press conference outside the Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple.
Mr. Perry also praised the people who stood in queue for hours to donate blood for the wounded and said, “the better element of human nature kicked in.”
