The day after tragic shootings rocked Fort Hood in Texas, local retired U.S. Army Gen. Burwell "BB" Bell said commanders at the military installation should focus on three areas.

Leaders must ensure that the families of the deceased and wounded are taken care of, they must coordinate all investigative efforts and they must take a serious introspective look at the event, said Gen. Bell, who commanded Fort Hood from 2004 to 2005.

That look, commonly called an "after action review," is a regular part of operations from squad-sized patrols to war campaigns. Army leaders will want to know what happened, why it happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again, said Gen. Bell, now a resident of Ooltewah.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, is identified as the person responsible for the attack that killed 13 and wounded 30 at the fort.

Gen. Bell said leaders must look closely at how a commissioned officer reached the point where he would turn a weapon on his fellow soldiers. One question to examine is how Army leaders did not know that Maj. Hasan was headed in this direction, he said.

"There's a huge breakdown somewhere between the oath that this man took and his actions," the general said.

muslim reaction

An Arlington, Va.-born Army psychiatrist, Maj. Hasan has been Muslim all his life, according to The Associated Press.

Local Muslim leaders condemned the deadly shootings and offered their support to all those affected.

"This is against humanity to do such acts. It doesn't matter who did it, it's just an awful thing to happen," said Dr. Ezad Ahmad, a member of the Dalton Islamic Center.

"Our heart goes out for those people and their families who lost loved ones, but really that's a general statement, it's not because the person who committed the crime is Muslim," he said. "We cannot apologize for him, that's not the purpose of this (statement), we just feel bad it happened to any American and their families."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization in America, issued a statement Thursday in which it urged the nation to remain calm and unified.

"No political or religious ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence," the release stated. "The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted our nation's all-volunteer Army that includes thousands of Muslims in all services."

Kabah Raheem, the imam, or religious leader, of the Chattanooga Islamic Center, said he fully supports the statements released by the council.

"Everybody is to remain calm and not be pressed to judgment and to respond and not react," he said.

Arif Shafi, a member of the Masjid Annour, a Muslim place of worship in Chattanooga, said all Muslims must not be painted with the same brush.

"People should not blame Islam as a religion or the community as a whole for what happened in Texas," he said. "There are always some black sheep here and there who exploit the religion, but there are between 8 (million) and 10 million Muslims in this country and the majority are peace-loving and caring."

Although the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked American Muslims, and those who may be perceived to be Muslim, to take appropriate precautions, Dr. Ahmad said he doesn't fear any repercussions.

"I don't think we are taking any specific precautions. We have been in this community for a long time, we trust our neighbors and our community and our mosque doors are open," he said.

fort hood memories

Chattanooga resident and former U.S. Army Spc. Steven Stallings said watching televised accounts of the Fort Hood shootings brought back memories of the 1991 shootings at a popular restaurant outside the fort.

On Oct. 16, 1991, Mr. Stallings, then stationed at Fort Hood, said he was on his way with other soldiers to eat at Luby's Cafeteria off base when leaders put the fort on lockdown.

George Jo Hennard had driven his pickup truck into the restaurant that day and opened fire on patrons and staff, some of whom were soldiers from Fort Hood. Mr. Hennard shot and killed 23 people, then wounded another 20 before killing himself.

Mr. Stallings said that when the fort was shut down soldiers were not allowed on or off the property and had to report to commanders.

"That day, no military personnel could leave off base and others had to immediately return back to post," he said.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, security at many military bases tightened.

Jason Tickel, a former soldier stationed at Fort Hood from 1997 to 2000, said he visited a friend who lives outside the fort this summer.

"I thought I was going to go on post to see and reminisce, but it would have taken the entire afternoon just to get on post," he said.

But search procedures are different for military personnel, Mr. Tickel said. A soldier, in uniform with proper identification and vehicle registration, likely would not be searched for weapons when entering or leaving the fort, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.