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Obama honors 13 killed in shooting at Fort Hood

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-11 04:57

HOUSTON: US President Barack Obama participated in a memorial service at the Fort Hood Army base, Texas, Tuesday to honor 13 people killed by a US Army psychiatrist.

Obama honored the men and women killed in Thursday's shooting rampage for their service, and said that the fact that they were killed on American soil makes "the tragedy even more painful."

Several thousand people attended the ceremony, which includes prayers, speeches, a sermon and a "roll call" tribute to the 13 dead.

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Obama delayed his departure for Asia by a day to make the ceremony service.

The president and his wife, Michelle, arrived in Killeen before noon Central time. Before attending the ceremony, the Obamas visited privately with the families of those killed.

The shooting, the worst in history at a US military base, took place 1:30 p.m. CST (1930 GMT) Thursday at a soldier readiness area at Fort Hood, the country's largest military installation. Thirteen people were killed and another 29 were wounded.

The suspect in the shooting, Nidal Malik Hasan, a Army mental health doctor, is going to be deployed overseas, very likely in Afghanistan and he "was disturbed" about his overseas deployment, military sources said.