Fort Hood gunman Ivan Lopez 'may have snapped after row'

The US Army says there is a "strong possibility" a gunman who killed three people at a base in Texas was involved in an argument before the shooting, the BBC reported.

Lt Gen Mark Milley formally identified the attacker as Specialist Ivan Lopez, 34, who later shot himself.

He told reporters there was "very strong evidence" that Lopez, originally from Puerto Rico, had an unstable psychological condition.

Sixteen others were wounded in the attack.

Officials have said that Lopez had served in Iraq and was being assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder.

"There may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier or soldiers," Gen Milley said.

"And there's a strong possibility that that in fact immediately preceded the shooting, but we do not have that definitively at this point, but we do have strong indications of that."

Gen Milley also told reporters: "We have very strong evidence that he had a medical history that indicates an unstable psychiatric or psychological condition… we believe that to be a fundamental, underlying causal factor."

He also confirmed that the pistol used in the attack was bought from the same store, Guns Galore in nearby Killeen, where the soldier behind the 2009 gun rampage at Fort Hood purchased his.