Killeen, Texas (CNN) -- The civilian police officer hailed as a heroine for ending the shooting rampage at Fort Hood Army Post said Wednesday she was washing her patrol car just before she headed to the bloody scene.
Sgt. Kimberly Munley was cleaning the car and topping off the gas tank, routine duties at the end of her shift, when she heard the report last Thursday that shots had been fired at the Army post, she told Oprah Winfrey via teleconference.
The brief interview was taped to air later in the day on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
Police Senior Sgt. Mark Todd also responded to the scene, where he said they were directed to the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where soldiers were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Both Munley and Todd didn't know what they were about to face.
"The entire incident was very confusing and chaotic," Munley said. "There was many people outside pointing to the direction that this individual was apparently located, and as soon as I got out of my vehicle and ran up the hill was when things got pretty bad."
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Once inside, Munley, who has been trained in active-response tactics, began exchanging fire with the alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a military psychiatrist, authorities said. They said her shots disabled Hasan and halted the attacks.
Thirteen people -- 12 soldiers and one civilian -- were killed.
Munley suffered three gunshot wounds, in both thighs and a knuckle, and remains at Metroplex Adventist Hospital in good condition, authorities said.
"The training does take over," she said when asked about her quick reactions. "In that particular incident, we didn't have much time to think."
"When I got shot, it felt like a muscle being torn out of my leg," she told Winfrey, and added, "I'm doing well."
"Every day is a progress for me, and things are getting better day by day. And emotionally, I'm just hoping that the rest of the officers and the injured and the families of the deceased are healing as well."
Winfrey showed a clip of Metroplex's Dr. Kelly Matlock saying that Munley's first words after the shooting were, "Did anybody die?"
The 34-year-old mother of two said she recalled asking that, and she never lost consciousness after being shot.
"I was very concerned as to who else had been injured," Munley said.
Todd was not injured in the rampage. He said he has been a police officer for 25 years and, before that, was in the Army. This was the first time he had been forced to fire his weapon on the job, he said.
He also said last Thursday began as a "typical day" for him, with only minor incidents.
At first, when he heard the shots from Fort Hood, he thought the soldiers were practicing the traditional rifle volleys they do at memorial services.
During the incident, Todd said he fired his gun over and over as he'd been trained to do.
Munley, whose husband is in the Army, is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 125 pounds.
Winfrey asked her where she got her nickname, "Mighty Mouse." Munley said her partner at a police department in North Carolina called her that after she was able to help when he was being wrestled for his weapon. The nickname stuck.
Todd said he was grateful that he was able to return safely home to his family at the end of that day.
"I just thank God he missed me," he said.
