House Homeland Security Chair and U.S. Representative from Texas Michael McCaul (R) told CNN that four people are dead and 14 wounded in a shooting that took place at Fort Hood in Texas Wednesday evening.

General Mark Milley, III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General, speaks to media during a press conference about a shooting .
General Mark Milley, III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General, speaks to media during a press conference about a shooting . (Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)
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The gunman has been identified as Ivan Lopez, 34, a soldier, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The soldier "was under diagnosis for PTSD" and mental health issues, but his diagnosis was not official, Fort Hood III Corps Commanding Lt. Gen. Mark Milley said in an evening press conference regarding to shooting.

Milley said that at this time, there is no reason to believe the incident was an act of terrorism.

In a press release on the U.S. military base's website officials confirm the shooting and injuries with emergency crews on the scene. 

The lockdown at Fort Hood was lifted and the sound of the "all clear" siren filled the air before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday evening that he was following the situation closely from a steakhouse in Chicago where he was attending a fundraiser.

"We are going to do everything we can to make the community of Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with a tough situation," President Obama said. "Just for now I would hope that everyone across the country keep the families of Fort Hood in our thoughts and our prayers."

Shots were first reported around 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. CNN reported that the shooting began initially as a "soldier-on-soldier" attack.

Bell County Sheriff's Office Lt. Donnie Adams says the sheriff's office dispatched deputies and troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the nearby Texas Army base.

The 1st Calvary Division, which is based at Fort Hood, sent a Twitter alert telling people on base to close doors and stay away from windows after the shooter began to open fire.

Immediately following the shooting, Central Texas College and a nearby elementary school were also on lockdown.

At least 20 shots were fired in a motor pool area of the base according to KWTX TV. The Associated Press reported that the injured were taken to Darnall Army Community Hospital at Fort Hood and other local hospitals.

"Dr. Glen Couchman, chief medical officer at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, said the first four people admitted there had gunshots to chest, abdomen, neck and extremities and that their conditions range from stable to quite critical,'" according to the AP.

The base was the scene of a mass shooting in November 2009 that left 13 dead and 30 injured. The base is located in central Texas between Austin and Waco. According to the AP, "the assault on Fort Hood was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in U.S. history."

The 2009 attack took place in a crowded building occupied by soldiers who had just returned from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. The shooter, Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, was convicted and sentenced to death.

"He said he acted to protect Islamic insurgents abroad from American aggression," The Associated Press reported.

The 2009 shooting led to tighter security at military bases throughout the country, including issuing additional firearms to security personnel and integrating attack scenarios in training exercises.

Then in September, a former Navy man opened fire at a Navy Yard in Washington. The attack left 13 people, including the gunman, dead. The AP reported that the shooting led Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to "order the Pentagon to review security at all U.S. defense installations worldwide."

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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