US President Barack Obama has arrived in Houston to host a fundraiser in the run-up to the 2014 midterm election, hours after he mourned the victims of a shooting at a US Army base in central Texas.

Obama and wife Michelle arrived at Bush Intercontinental Airport Wednesday afternoon, where they were welcomed by a small group of well-wishers, including former President George H.W. Bush, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Obama, accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, is scheduled to attend a party fundraiser at the home of a prominent donor Wednesday night. Tickets for the event start at 16,200 US dollars for individuals and cost as much as 64,800 US dollars for couples, according to the report.

Several downtown streets in Houston will be closed until the president departs Thursday morning. He will fly to Austin to deliver a keynote speech at the Civil Rights Summit, which will also feature former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Earlier Wednesday, Obama attended a memorial service for three soldiers who died in a shooting spree last week in Fort Hood, about 270 km north of Houston.

Obama sent his condolences to the victims' relatives and paid tribute to the dead. It was the second time he has attended a memorial at the army post after such a tragedy.

On April 2, an Army truck driver, Ivan Lopez, opened fire in three separate buildings at the post, killing three people and wounding 16 others before committing suicide. Authorities said the soldier, who was being treated for mental health issues, had verbal altercations with his seniors regarding a request for leave just before the shooting.

On Nov. 5, 2009, Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at a soldier readiness center at Fort Hood. The deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in US history left 13 people dead and more than 30 others wounded.