WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said Friday the entire nation is grieving for those slain at Fort Hood, and he urged people not to jump to conclusions while law enforcement officers investigate the shootings.
Obama met Friday morning with FBI Director Robert Mueller and other federal leaders to get an update on what they've learned.
Thirteen people were killed and 30 others injured in the shooting rampage at the Texas Army post on Thursday. The suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is an Army psychiatrist; his motive remains unclear. He remains hospitalized.
"We don't know all the answers yet. And I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have all the facts," Obama said in a Rose Garden statement otherwise devoted to the economy.
"What we do know is that there are families, friends and an entire nation grieving right now for the valiant men and women who came under attack yesterday," the president said.
Obama ordered the flags at the White House and other federal buildings to be at half-staff until Veterans Day. He called it a modest tribute to those who were slain and to those who put their lives on the line in the armed services each day.
"We stand in awe of their sacrifice, and we pray for the safety of those who fight, and for the families of those who have fallen," Obama said.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has declared a moment of silence for U.S. military forces worldwide as a show of respect for the Fort Hood victims.
The moment of silence is planned for 2:34 p.m. EST Friday -- exactly 24 hours after the shooting in Texas. All U.S. forces worldwide are being asked to participate in the show of respect.
Earlier in the day Hasan's family released a statement.. His family says "the actions of their cousin are despicable and deplorable."
Kim Fuller, a spokeswoman for Hasan's family says relatives in Northern Virginia are reaching out to law enforcement Friday to offer insight.
Hasan's family said in a statement Friday that his actions don't reflect how they were raised in the U.S. Military. Officials are still trying to piece together what may have pushed the 39-year-old Army psychiatrist, trained to help soldiers in distress, to turn on his comrades.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
