Soldiers 'Confused and Shocked' by Fort Hood Shootings

FORT HOOD, Texas -- Lindsey Berryman, a 22-year-old in the military reserves, was going to do errands on base Thursday, but decided against it and stayed home. It wasn't until her phone exploded with calls from friends and family making sure she wasn't hurt that she found out about the shootings.

"Even coming home, there were neighbors that you never see out talking to each other," she said. "We needed to start figuring out who was around us."

At first, she found it hard to believe what was happening. "Where do I start?" she said. "Who do I call? What do I do? Do I need to go pick my son up?"

Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the commanding officer at Fort Hood, tried to ease lingering fears.

"It is truly overwhelming the offers of support we have had from around the nation," the general said Thursday evening. On Friday at Fort Hood, he said, "we return to normalcy, schools will be open."

He added that the post will "increase our security presence in the coming days," but added: "We do not carry weapons. This is our home."

Despite assurances from the post's leadership, some may need more time to readjust to daily life at Fort Hood.

"I was confused and just shocked," said Spc. Jerry Richard, 27, who was not on duty during the shootings. "Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can't even defend yourself."

The above story is an edited version of Christina Dowsett's reporting on the Fort Hood shootings for the North Texas Daily, the student newspaper at the University of North Texas.