Hundreds waited for hours outside Fort Hood Thursday, after a soldier opened fire at a facility on base, killing 13 people and wounding 28 more.
The suspect was identified at Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Hasan was originally thought to be dead after being shot multiple times by Fort Hood police Sgt. Kimberley Munley. However, he was later reported by Fort Hood officials to be alive.
While victims were rushed to the hospital, soldiers inside the base were put on lockdown as army officials did a sweep of the facilities. Soldier Patricia Muse said she received a text during the incident from another soldier on base. The family, according to the text, was hiding in a basement.
Meanwhile, residents of the base waited outside the gates, waiting to be reunited with family.
The wife of Sgt. Timothy Lewis, Natalie Lewis, said she went off base to pick up her four kids when the shooting happened.
"My main concern is - I hope the Red Cross will provide shelter for those who live on base," she said.
When the shootings occurred, Natalie had no way to contact her husband. As she waited for details, her children played with Zayna Vidrio's two children.
"This never happened before," Vidrio's son, Anthony, said with a concerned look on his face.
Vidrio, the wife of a soldier in Iraq, let Natalie borrow her phone to call her husband inside the base. Natalie found he was not in the same area of the base where the shootings happened.
"You can depend on others when something like this happens," Natalie said.
Many of the families were relieved to find Pizza Hut provided free food and drinks to those waiting to enter the base, but Amanda Denman, wife of Specialist Drew Denman, refused to eat any.
"I'm waiting so we can have dinner together," she said. Her husband just returned from Iraq and was on the base with their baby girl. "My baby took her first three steps while I've been out here."
A woman holding a baby walked by Denman and the other wives. "Do you need a blanket?" Denman asked the woman. She accepted the blanket, explaining she only planned to leave the base for a few minutes when the shooting happened and had not properly packed enough supplies for her baby.
Denman said she did not know the woman, but she continued to offer her help.
Sitting outside with two other military wives, Deanna Chambliss spoke about what went on inside.
"They were about to be deployed when it happened," she said. "It's messed up because he's a major, and that's someone the soldiers are supposed to look up to."
Chambliss said she was able to speak to her husband, who was on the base at the time of the shooting. They spoke only long enough for her to know he was not injured.
While many residents and families waited just outside the main gates, others were stuck on the other side. A line of cars could be seen waiting to exit the base. However, according to the officer guarding the entrance, all vehicles would have to be searched before being allowed out.
The nine schools on the base were also on lockdown during the incident.
All were confirmed safe. Temple Independent School District schools were also put on soft lockdown, authorities said.
Around 7 p.m., the alarms sounded again, this time to notify the soldiers the lockdown was over. Families and residents piled back into their cars and headed home.
To view News 8's PHOTO GALLERY of the images surrounding the incident, click the link.
