McCain: Fort Hood Shooting an 'Act of Terror'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — U.S. Sen. John McCain said Wednesday he considered the Fort Hood shooting an "act of terror" and said authorities should have been alerted to "disturbing behavior patterns" exhibited by the Army psychiatrist accused of gunning down his comrades.

"I believe it was an act of terror," McCain told a crowd at the University of Louisville during a question-an-answer session after a Veterans Day tribute to the military.

Pressed later by a reporter to explain his words, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee said: "The fact is that it was an act of terror when you're on a military base, and you are a trusted member of the military, a commissioned officer, and you kill your fellow members in the military — motivated obviously by his views of the extremist interpretation of an honorable religion," McCain said.