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Nov 6, 2009 11:02 pm US/Central
St. Paul Soldier Among Those Killed At Fort Hood
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
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Kham Xiong was one of the 13 people confirmed killed when Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood.
CBS
A 23-year-old soldier from St. Paul was among those killed in the Fort Hood shootings Thursday afternoon.
Kham Xiong was one of the 13 people confirmed killed in Texas when Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire. Hasan's motive remains unclear but some witnesses said when he opened fire at the Army base he shouted "God is great" in Arabic before his rampage.
Others think Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was upset because he was being sent to the war in Afghanistan.
The family of Kham Xiong spent Thursday night frantically calling hospitals after news of the shootings broke. They were unable to establish contact.
At 3 p.m. Friday morning, Kham's wife called and notified his family in St. Paul of his death.
"It was a lot of crying, a lot of tears, a lot of denying -- are you sure it's my brother, are you sure?" said Mee Xiong, Kham's sister.
Kham attended the Community of Peace Academy charter school in St. Paul. His family said he has a brother, Nelson, who is also in the military and is currently deployed to Afghanistan.
Kham joined the Army last year because he wanted to travel and see the world. He was in Texas preparing for his own deployment to Afghanistan when he was killed.
"It's definitely harder. He was really excited about going, and so it's hard to see him staying here," said Dan Bee Xiong, another of Kham's sisters. "He had the biggest smile ever and a really good sense of humor."
Kham Xiong leaves behind a wife and three children in Texas, as well as his family in St. Paul, which includes nine siblings.
"I don't know. I want my son back because my son is a good son to my family. I really love my son. I need my son back," said Chor Xiong, Kham's father.
Kham's wife and children will be moving back to St. Paul to be closer to family.
Another soldier with Minnesota connections was shot Thursday afternoon, but survived her injuries. U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Keara Bono, 21, was shot in the back of the shoulder Thursday while she was at Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Center preparing paperwork for an upcoming deployment to Iraq. She currently lives in Otsego, Minn.
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