Ft. Hood Victim's Family Speaks Out Against Anti-Muslim Sentiment (VIDEO)

Ft. Hood Victim's Family Speaks Out Against Anti-Muslim Sentiment (VIDEO)

Army chief of staff Gen. George Casey said this weekend that he is concerned that the deadly shooting at Ft. Hood last week could "cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers."

"I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that," Gen. Casey told CNN on Sunday, stating that "as great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."

On Monday, the family of one of the victims offered a hand of support to the Muslim community. Michael Cahill, a physician assistant at the base, was the only civilian to be killed in the attacks, and his family spoke to CBS News to denounce the scapegoating of Muslims.

"You can't blanket a whole group of people. There's extremists in every religion, and there's extremists all over the world," said Cahill's daughter, Kerry. "And I don't think that we can blanket a whole group of people when this man obviously was ill, I think."

Cahill's other daughter, Keely Vanacker, expanded: "The death of our father, or any of these victims, shouldn't be an excuse or reason to begin to hate an entire group of people."

WATCH CBS's interview with the family here:

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot