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The civilian surgeon overseeing the care of some of the most gravely wounded victims from Thursday’s Fort Hood shootings warned today that the death toll from the incident could still climb.

Dr. W. Roy Smythe, chief of surgery at Scott and White Hospital, which holds the nearest trauma centre to the massive military post, said that six military personnel cut down by the shooter remain in hospital.

“I would say that some of them are out of the woods, but some of them, their injuries are so severe that only time will tell how they’ll do in the long run,” he said. Two patients remain in surgical intensive care and others may never fully recover.

“Some of these patients are young and sometimes young patients surprise you in regards to their rehabilitation. But there is a possibility that some of these patients will be physically impaired for the rest of their lives,” he said.

“And there’s certainly no doubt many of them will be psychologically impaired for the rest of their lives.”

Texas Governor Rick Perry spent Saturday morning visiting with many of the victims and their families at the hospital, which took in ten patients following Thursday’s shooting.

Looking exhausted and dressed fully in black, Gov. Perry said it was an “honour” to meet with the victims, including Sergeant Kim Munley, the civilian police officer being credited with cutting down the shooter, Major Nidal Hasan, to end his rampage.

“She is a very understated person who understands the gravity of what she did but also a classic public servant interested in getting on with her life,” Gov. Perry said. “What I heard time after time in those hospital rooms is their honour to be able to serve our country.”

Gov. Perry urged the Fort Hood community to focus on the elements of altruism drawn out by the incident – including the repeated displays of selflessness soldiers exhibited by throwing themselves in Maj. Hasan’s line of fire to tearing off their own clothes to use as makeshift bandages and tourniquets for the wounded – rather than the horror.

“From the instant the perpetrator opened fire, the better element of the human nature kicked in,” he said, referring to the rescue efforts made by first-responders on the scene. “There is no telling how many lives they saved because of their selflessness.”

The sacrifices made by soldiers at the scene, who were unarmed as per base rules, were the focus of a candlelight vigil held at an on-base stadium at dusk Friday night.

There, Douglas Carver, the Army’s chief chaplain, told the crowd of several hundred mourners to “remember to keep breathing ...keep going.”

Candlelight vigil at Fort Hood

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Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura also paid a visit to Fort Hood Friday night. The pair, who live in Texas, quietly visited with victims recovering in the hospital on base and thanked workers and Fort Hood leaders.

Meanwhile, Maj. Hasan, the 39-year-old Army psychiatrist who is the only suspect in the shootings, was transferred from an unnamed hospital near Fort Hood to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, about 240 kilometres southwest of the post.

A U.S. army spokesman said Maj. Hasan has been taken off a ventilator but still remains in intensive care at a military hospital. Spokesman Colonel John Rossi told reporters on Saturday at Fort Hood that he is not sure if Maj. Hasan is able to communicate.

He was shot several times by law enforcement officials at the scene of the shooting. Several who gave media interviews on Friday recounted seeing him bloodied and unconscious after being cut down.

If he lives, Maj. Hasan is likely to face a barrage of charges, including several counts of murder, which is punishable by death in the state of Texas. A federal investigation into Maj. Hasan and Thursday’s shooting is ongoing.

With files from The Associated Press