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Answers Sought After Deadly Fort Hood Shooting

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A soldier watches over media as they prepare to hear General Mark Milley, III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General, speak during a press conference about a shooting that occurred earlier in the day at Fort Hood Military Base on April 2, 2014 in Fort Hood, Texas.  Milley confirmed that four people were dead in the shooting, including the gunman himself. (Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)
A soldier watches over media as they prepare to hear General Mark Milley, III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General, speak during a press conference about a shooting that occurred earlier in the day at Fort Hood Military Base on April 2, 2014 in Fort Hood, Texas. Milley confirmed that four people were dead in the shooting, including the gunman himself. (Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)

The Army's top civilian official says the soldier accused in the Fort Hood shooting this week was deployed for the final months of the Iraq war but did not see combat.

Three people died and 16 were wounded before the shooter committed suicide. At least three military personnel remain in critical condition.

Army Secretary John McHugh testified Thursday that the soldier appeared to have no connections to extremist groups.

The soldier is identified by others as Ivan Lopez. He enlisted in the Army in June 2008 as an infantryman and later switched his specialty to truck driver, the job he had in Iraq.

McHugh says the soldier was examined by a psychiatrist last month and was found to show no violent or suicidal tendencies. He says the soldier had been prescribed Ambien to deal with a sleeping problem.

KUT reporter Kate McGee has been covering the story and joins Here & Now's Robin Young with details.

"The first thought from many people in the Killeen and Fort Hood area was the 2009 shooting, when 13 people were killed and more than 30 were wounded," McGee said. "Yesterday, some of the doctors who are treating these patients said that the 2009 shooting was very much on their minds. Many of them had treated the patients from 2009. And the same was seen for many of the people who live on base. They couldn't get in touch with their loved ones, the base was shut down immediately and was on lockdown, and there was a lack of contact that added to the anxiety of an already tragic event."

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This segment aired on April 3, 2014.

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