Firsthand accounts of Texas shootings

Eye witnesses are already coming forward and talking to US news media about the tragic turn of events at Fort Hood US military base in Texas.

The US army has confirmed that 7 are dead and 20 wounded after two separate shootings at the sprawling army base.

"I was here for a 2pm (NZ time Friday 9am) graduation," Retired Army Col. Greg Schannep is reported as saying by TDTNews.com.

"As I drove up, I heard some shots. A soldier came running past me and said, 'Sir, there is someone shooting.'"

"I heard three or four volleys of shots with eight to 12 shots in each volley. Initially, I thought it was a training exercise," he said.

"As he ran past me I saw blood on his back. I don't think he even knew he had been shot. He has since been treated and should be OK," he said.

Sgt. Rebekah Lampam, a spokeswoman at Fort Hood, said a graduation ceremony for soldiers who finished college courses while deployed was going on in the auditorium at the time of the shooting.

John Fisher, Bell County commissioner for the precinct that includes the base, is reported as saying that the shooters were wearing military clothing but he was not sure if they were military personnel says TDTNews.com.

The online site also says that one ambulance dispatch indicated that one of the injured was a 24-year-old male with injuries to his abdomen and left arm.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was also said to have been transported to the hospital after the attacks, with reports indicating she was suffering a possible anxiety attack.

- NZ HERALD STAFF