Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman today announced that the Senate Homeland Security Committee will investigate last week's killings at a Texas military base.

Maine Sen. Susan Collins says the Senate Homeland Security Committee will be conducting an investigation into last week's slayings at Fort Hood, beginning with a public hearing next week. Collins is the ranking Republican on the committee.

"It is important for our nation to understand what precipitated this horrific attack so that we may work to prevent future incidents. The investigation is about understanding the factors that led Major Hasan, a senior Army officer and a psychiatrist trained to ease human suffering, to kill and injure so many of his fellow soldiers," Collins says in a statement released in conjunction with committee chair Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut Independent. "Our military must be prepared to detect the warning signs for potential violence and to intervene and prevent similar attacks in the future."

Collins and Lieberman say previous hearings uncovered the threat of "homegrown terrorism," particularly from so-called "lone wolf" terrorists. Both senators said that the investigation is not aimed at Muslims serving in the military. "Let me express my personal gratitude to the thousands of American Muslims serving in our military and working to defeat terrorism," Collins says. "Any of them could have been another victim of Major Hasan's attack."