Investigators today began piecing together how and why they think an Army psychiatrist facing deployment to Afghanistan gunned down dozens of people yesterday at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, in one of the worst mass shootings ever on an American military base.

The gunman, identified as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was shot four times by a Fort Hood police officer responding to the scene. Hasan remained hospitalized on a ventilator but was in stable condition, Army officials said.

A day of mourning has been declared on the base for the 13 people killed — 12 soldiers and one civilian — and 28 wounded in the rampage, and US President Barack Obama said that flags at the White House and other federal buildings would fly at half-staff until Veteran’s Day, “as a modest tribute to those who lost their lives.” Obama said the whole country was grieving for the victims of the shooting, and asked people to avoid “jumping to conclusions” while the investigations continued.

A day after the shooting unfolded in a blur of contradictory reports from officials, many questions continued to burn about Hasan’s life and his motives.

Reports suggested Hasan may have yelled something like “Allahu Akbar” just before the shooting. Family members said he had previously complained about being harassed because he was a Muslim and that he had expressed deep concerns about deployment. Army officials said Hasan had not caused any problems since transferring to the Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood this year.

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