Source: USA Today (Original Article)
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George Stratton III was at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center Thursday when an explosive torrent of gunfire erupted behind him.
“It was like 15 shots that went off really quick. It was really deafening. He couldn’t hear anything. Then he dropped to the floor to take cover,” his father, George Stratton Jr., told USA TODAY on Friday.
BASE BLOODSHED: Gunman praised God, opened fire
BASE BLOODSHED: Gunman praised God, opened fire
When his son peeked up to see what was happening, “he looked up and (the gunman) was standing five feet in front of him. He pointed down and shot George, then George went down because he was hit,” said his father, a plumbing contractor in Post Falls, Idaho.
George Stratton III, 18, was hit once in the left shoulder and is among the 30 people wounded in the shooting rampage that terrorized the Texas Army base. Thirteen others were killed.
Fort Hood officials have not released the names of the dead and wounded, but families across the country spoke Friday about being notified of their loved ones’ deaths or survival. They described scenes of chaos and heroism amid the barrage of gunfire as soliders, some of whom survived tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, faced violence at home.
All but two of the injured remain hospitalized, and all were in stable condition. One of the wounded is Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who is the lone suspect in the shootings.
The elder Stratton said his son left him a voicemail Thursday afternoon as he was being loaded onto an ambulance. When he reached his son later, he was already at the hospital.
His son described the chaos of the shooting and his getaway: After getting shot, he grabbed his wounded arm and ran for the door, scanning the destruction …continue reading