Fort Hood Shooter Was Being Treated for Depression

At NYT, "Fort Hood Gunman Was Being Treated for Depression":

KILLEEN, Tex. — The commanding general of Fort Hood said on Thursday that the soldier who killed three people and wounded 16 others during a shooting the previous day might have argued with at least one other soldier shortly before the attack.

The base commander, Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley, said investigators also believed that the mental health of the gunman, identified as Specialist Ivan Lopez, had contributed to the rampage. Specialist Lopez had an “unstable psychiatric and psychological condition,” General Milley said at a news conference on Thursday outside Fort Hood.

“There may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier or soldiers,” General Milley said. “We have strong indications of that.” The shooting, the general said, began shortly after that altercation.

Earlier on Thursday, the secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Specialist Lopez had been examined by a psychiatrist within the last month but had shown no signs that he might commit a violent act. “The plan forward was just to continue to monitor and treat him as deemed appropriate,” Mr. McHugh said.

Mr. McHugh added that doctors had been evaluating Specialist Lopez for post-traumatic stress disorder before the shooting and that he had been prescribed Ambien, a sleep aid, and other medications to treat anxiety and depression.

“It’s not clear how common that is or whether this was something larger,” a senior law enforcement official said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.

More.

Plus, at WSJ, "Fort Hood Officials Focus on Shooting Suspect's Mental Health: Accused Shooter Ivan Lopez's Medical History Showed 'Unstable Psychiatric or Psychological Condition'."

Also at USA Today, "One Fort Hood victim was barricading door to packed room."

And the Austin American-Statesman has all kinds of coverage.