My thoughts and prayers go to the victims and their families in the Fort Hood shooting. The entire situation is tragic.

I have no comment about the fact that the shooter worked as a psychiatrist. Whether or not he was a physician, his actions were appalling. The vast majority of people—psychiatrists or not—do not respond to bad news by shooting people.

I don’t know if it is noteworthy that the media has been referring to him as “Major Hasan” and “Mr. Hasan”, versus “Dr. Hasan”. A primary duty of a physician is to “Do no harm”. He ignored this edict for reasons that remain unclear at this time and he arguably no longer deserves to be addressed as “Dr.”

Major Hasan is reportedly currently unconscious and breathing with the assistance of a mechanical ventilator. I hope that he will soon be able to provide answers to explain his actions—and not so much because of his employment as a psychiatrist… but because of his status as a human being.

Some psychiatrists argue that psychiatry is solely a medical specialty. I am not one of them. Psychiatry can very much be a sociopolitical activity and, as the details of this terrible situation are revealed, I anticipate that we shall see the social and political forces adjust—and react—accordingly.