...The shooting began about 1:30 Central Time at Hood’s Soldier Family Readiness Center where Cone said soldiers from multiple units were crowded into the center for a scheduled weekly "make up time" for medical and dental appointments.

Casualties were high due to the enclosed location, but would have been much worse were it not for the training and quick reaction of the soldiers, Cone said, adding that he was on the scene quickly after the shooting began.

"Suffice it to say...the American soldier did a great job," he said.

From the reports of eyewitnesses, he said, the soldiers — "many of them combat lifesavers" -- reacted instantaneously, ripping off parts of their own clothing to treat the wounded.

"I credit the first responders," he said. "God bless these soldiers and Department of Army civilians. As horrible as this was, it could have been much worse."

...The suspect is believed to have used two handguns in the shooting, one a semiautomatic, Cone said. And in responding to a question, "As a matter of practice, we do not carry weapons on Fort Hood," he said. "This is our home."