Four die, 15 injured in shooting at Fort Hood, USA
Massacre fuels protest over gun-free army bases
03 April, 13:48 (ANSA) - Washington, April 3 - Four people died and 15 more
were injured in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in
Texas on Wednesday, fuelling debate about a Clinton-era law
banning firearms from US army bases.
Ivan Lopez, a 35-year-old Iraq war veteran with anxiety and
depression, is believed to have opened fire on fellow servicemen
after a quarrel before turning the gun on himself.
The incident evoked the 2009 shooting at the same military base, when army psychiatrist and medical corps officer Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people and injured over 30 more. Hasan survived the shooting and was subsequently court-martialled and sentenced to death in August 2013. Wednesday's shooting rekindled controversy over regulations introduced by former president Bill Clinton banning soldiers from carrying personal firearms on military bases. Critics of the measure argue that had Lopez's fellow servicemen been armed, they could have taken him on immediately to prevent the massacre.
The incident evoked the 2009 shooting at the same military base, when army psychiatrist and medical corps officer Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people and injured over 30 more. Hasan survived the shooting and was subsequently court-martialled and sentenced to death in August 2013. Wednesday's shooting rekindled controversy over regulations introduced by former president Bill Clinton banning soldiers from carrying personal firearms on military bases. Critics of the measure argue that had Lopez's fellow servicemen been armed, they could have taken him on immediately to prevent the massacre.