Moment Fort Hood shooting suspect disarmed

AP

FALLEN: Victims killed during a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. From top left: Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, 22, Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19, Michael Grant Cahill, 62, Pfc. Kham Xiong, 23, Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, 32. From bottom left, Pfc. Michael Pearson, 21, Russell Seager, 51, Francheska Velez, 21, Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, and Major L. Eduardo Caraveo, 52.

Reuters

SUSPECTED SHOOTER: Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

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One of two police officers who confronted the alleged Fort Hood killer says he shot Major Nidal Malik Hasan before kicking the man's weapon away, handcuffing him and ending America's worst killing spree on a military base.

Sergeant Mark Todd joined Sergeant Kimberly Munley, hailed as a hero for her actions, in a firefight with Hasan that lasted less than a minute. Todd was not wounded, but the exchange left Munley injured and Hasan critically wounded.

Seconds after Todd arrived on the scene, he said he saw a calm-looking Hasan, his gun drawn and his fingers pointing at people outside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center. Todd said he then saw Hasan shooting at soldiers as they attempted to flee.

"He was firing at people as they were trying to run and hide," Todd told The Associated Press.

That's when Todd, a retired soldier who now works as a civilian police officer at Fort Hood, said he shouted at Hasan to stop.

"I told him stop and drop your weapons, I identified myself as police and he turned and fired a couple of rounds at me. I didn't hear him say a word ... he just turned and fired."

There has been confusion since Thursday's rampage (Friday NZ time) about whose bullets actually brought Hasan down. At first, Munley's supervisor said it was her shot to Hasan's torso that leveled him, but Army officials would only say that an investigation was under way.

Munley was down by the time he engaged Hasan, Todd said. He wasn't sure if Munley had wounded the suspect, because "once he started firing at me, I lost track of her."

Todd said he fired his Beretta at Hasan. Hasan flinched, Todd said, then slid down against a telephone pole and fell on his back. Todd says he then heard bystanders say "two more, two more."

At first he thought the soldiers meant there were two more suspects, but then he realised they were urging him to fire two more rounds at Hasan, thinking he was still posing a threat.

Todd approached the suspect and saw that he still had a weapon in his hand. Todd kicked away the gun, which he said had a laser-aiming device attached to it.

"He was breathing, his eyes were blinking. You could tell that he was fading out. He didn't say anything. He was just kind of blinking," said Todd.

Todd handcuffed Hasan and checked to see if he was still alive. "He had a good pulse," said Todd. He also cut off pieces of Hasan's clothes so he could get first aid and noticed Hasan had gunshot wounds on his side and back.

From the time he got to the scene until Hasan dropped was just 30-45 seconds, Todd said. "It was pretty intense. There was a lot of people shouting, a lot of people giving directions," he said.

Munley, whose injuries weren't believed to be life threatening, won wide praise after the incident. Facebook fan pages quickly sprouted up, with well-wishers cheering her heroism and crediting the officers with saving lives.

Todd said there were numerous heroes, including the first responders who helped the injured.

"It's what we've been trained to do. This is what we have to do," he said. "There was absolutely no time to think about it ... you have to react."

OBAMA: WORST OF HUMAN NATURE, BEST OF AMERICA

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama called for patience while officials piece together what happened in his weekly radio and internet address.

"We cannot fully know what leads a man to do such a thing," Obama said. "But what we do know is that our thoughts are with every one of the men and women who were injured at Fort Hood. Our thoughts are with all the families who've lost a loved one in this national tragedy."

But Obama said while "we saw the worst of human nature on full display, we also saw the best of America."

"We saw soldiers and civilians alike rushing to aid fallen comrades, tearing off bullet-riddled clothes to treat the injured, using blouses as tourniquets, taking down the shooter even as they bore wounds themselves," Obama said.

"We saw soldiers bringing to bear on our own soil the skills they had been trained to use abroad - skills that been honed through years of determined effort for one purpose and one purpose only: to protect and defend the United States of America."

And in comments designed to calm tensions inflamed by the shooting, Obama reminded Americans of their diversity.

"They are Americans of every race, faith and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers," Obama said. "They are descendants of immigrants and immigrants themselves. They reflect the diversity that makes this America. But what they share is a patriotism like no other."

HASAN FAMILY APPEAL

Meanwhile,  Eyad Hasan, brother of Major Nidal Malik Hasan, says the alleged shooter is a peaceful person - and hopes he will be treated fairly by the legal system.

Eyad Hasan said in an e-mail statement released Saturday that he hopes authorities will give his family information on Hasan's condition. He also says he hopes his brother is allowed the right to an attorney when he gains consciousness.

The brother says the Army major is a compassionate person who has never committed an act of violence.

He also says his family is praying for everyone affected by the "horrific events that transpired at Fort Hood."

Thirteen people were killed and 29 others wounded in the attack.