Fort Hood shooting
Encyclopedia
The Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting
that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation
in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas
. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others. It is the worst shooting ever to take place on an American military base.
The sole suspect is Nidal Malik Hasan
, a U.S. Army Major
serving as a psychiatrist
. He was shot and taken into custody by Department of the Army Civilian Police
officers, and is now paralyzed from the chest down. Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder
and 32 counts of attempted murder under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
; he may face additional charges at court-martial
. If he is convicted, there is a chance he could be given the death penalty.
Hasan is an American-born Muslim of Palestinian descent
. Internal Army reports indicate officers within the Army had discussed what they characterized as Hasan's tendencies toward radical Islam since 2005. Additionally, investigations before and after the shooting discovered e-mail communications between Hasan and Yemen-based cleric Anwar al-Awlaki
, who quickly declared Hasan a hero, as "fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty". After communications between the two were forwarded to FBI terrorism task forces in 2008, they determined that Hasan was not a threat prior to the shooting and that his questions to al-Awlaki were consistent with medical research.
In November 2009, after examining the e-mails and previous terrorism investigations, the FBI had found no information to indicate Hasan had any co-conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot. The U.S. later classified Anwar al-Awlaki as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the UN considered Awlaki to be associated with al-Qaeda
; Awlaki was killed by a U.S. predator drone missile attack in 2011. However, one year after the Fort Hood shooting, questions still lingered as to whether the incident was caused by mental health issues, and government agencies still had not officially linked Hasan to any radical terrorist groups.
on July 31, 2009, and purchased the FN Five-seven semi-automatic pistol that he was to use in the attack at Fort Hood. According to Army Specialist
William Gilbert, a regular customer at the store, Hasan entered the store and abruptly asked for "the most technologically advanced weapon on the market and the one with the highest magazine capacity." Hasan was allegedly asked how he intended to use the weapon, but didn't give a straight answer, insisting that he simply wanted the most advanced handgun with the largest magazine capacity. The three individuals conversing with Hasan—Gilbert, the store manager, and an employee—all agreed upon the FN Five-seven pistol. Gilbert, who personally owned one of the pistols, spent nearly an hour describing it to Hasan, explaining that the gun was extremely lightweight and accurate, and telling him that the bullets it fires cause severe damage on impact.
When the conversation ended, Hasan left the store, saying he needed to research the weapon. He returned to purchase the gun the next day, and visited the store on a weekly basis to buy extra magazines, along with hundreds of rounds of 5.7×28mm SS192 and SS197SR ammunition. In the weeks prior to the attack, Hasan visited an outdoor shooting range in Florence
, where he allegedly became adept at hitting silhouette targets at distances of up to 100 yards.
revolver was later found on Hasan's person, but it was not used to shoot any of the victims.
According to eyewitnesses, Hasan had taken a seat at an empty table and bowed his head for several seconds when he suddenly stood up, shouted "Allahu Akbar
!" and opened fire. Witnesses said Hasan initially "sprayed bullets at soldiers in a fanlike motion" before taking aim at individual soldiers. Eyewitness Sgt. Michael Davis said: "The rate of fire was pretty much constant shooting. When I initially heard it it sounded like an M16
."
Army reserve
Captain John Gaffaney attempted to stop Hasan by charging him, but was mortally wounded before he could reach him. Civilian physician assistant
Michael Cahill also tried to charge Hasan with a chair, but was shot and killed. Army reserve Specialist Logan Burnette tried to stop Hasan by throwing a folding table at him, but he was shot in the left hip, fell down, and crawled to a nearby cubicle.
According to testimony from witnesses, Hasan passed up several opportunities to shoot civilians, and instead focused on soldiers in uniform. At one point, Hasan reportedly approached a group of five civilians hiding under a desk. He looked at them, swept the dot of his pistol's laser sight over one of the men's faces, and then turned away without firing.
Base civilian police
Sergeant Kimberly Munley, who had rushed to the scene in her patrol car, encountered Hasan in the area outside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center. Hasan fired at Munley, who exchanged shots with him using her 9mm M9 pistol
. Munley's hand was hit by shrapnel when one of Hasan's bullets struck a nearby rain gutter, and then two bullets struck Munley: the first bullet hit her thigh, and the second hit her knee. As she began to fall from the first bullet, the second bullet struck her femur
, severely shattering it and knocking her to the ground. Hasan then walked up to Munley and kicked her pistol out of reach.
As the shooting continued outside, nurses and medics entered the building, secured the doors with a belt and rushed to help the wounded. According to the responding nurses, the blood loss inside the building was so heavy they were unable to maintain balance, and had difficulty reaching the wounded to help them. In the area outside the building, Hasan continued to shoot at fleeing soldiers, and civilian police Sergeant Mark Todd arrived and shouted commands at Hasan to surrender. Todd said: "Then he turned and fired a couple of rounds at me. I didn't hear him say a word, he just turned and fired." The two exchanged shots, and Hasan was felled by five shots from Todd, who then kicked his pistol out of his hand and placed him in handcuffs as he fell unconscious.
An investigator later testified that 146 spent shell casings were recovered inside the building. Another 68 casings were collected outside, for a total of 214 rounds fired by the attacker and responding police officers. A medic who treated Hasan said his pockets were full of pistol magazines. When the shooting ended, he was still carrying 177 rounds of unfired ammunition in his pockets, contained in both 20- and 30-round magazines. The incident, which lasted about 10 minutes, resulted in 30 people wounded, and 13 killed12 soldiers and one civilian; 11 died at the scene, and two died later in a hospital.
Initially, three soldiers were believed to have been involved in the shooting; two other soldiers were detained, but subsequently released. The Fort Hood website posted a notice indicating that the shooting was not a drill. Immediately after the shooting, the base and surrounding areas were locked down
by military police and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) until around 7 pm local time. In addition, Texas Rangers
, Texas DPS troopers
, deputies from the Bell County Sheriff's Office
, and FBI agents from Austin and Waco were dispatched. President Obama was briefed on the incident and later made a statement about the shooting.
On November 5, 2010, one year later, 52 individuals received awards for their actions in the shooting. The Soldier's Medal
was awarded to 10 soldiers, one of which was Captain John Gaffaney, who died attempting to charge the shooter. The Secretary of the Army Award for Valor
was awarded to police officers Kimberly Munley and Mark Todd, for the roles they played in stopping the shooter. On May 23, 2011, the Army Award for Valor was also posthumously awarded to civilian physician assistant
Michael Cahill, who died attempting to charge the shooter with a chair.
in San Antonio ,Texas, where he was held under heavy guard. Hasan was hit by at least four shots, and is said to be quadriplegic. He is currently being held at the Bell County jail in Belton, Texas.
Ten of the injured were treated at a trauma center in Temple, Texas
. Seven more wounded victims were taken to Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen. Eight others received hospital treatment for shock. Of those wounded at least 17 were service-members, and at least seven were civilians. On November 20, it was announced that eight of the wounded service members will still deploy overseas.
, M.D., a 39-year-old U.S. Army psychiatrist of Palestinian descent, is the sole suspect in the shootings. Hasan is a practicing Muslim who, according to one of his cousins, became more devout after the deaths of his parents in 1998 and 2001. His cousin did not recall him ever expressing radical or anti-American
views. Another cousin, Nader Hasan, a lawyer in Virginia, said that Nidal Hasan's opinion turned against the wars after he heard stories from people who returned from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Hasan attended the Dar Al-Hijrah
mosque in Falls Church, Virginia
, in 2001, at the same time as Nawaf al-Hazmi
and Hani Hanjour
, two of the hijackers in the September 11 attacks. A law enforcement official said that the FBI will probably look into whether Hasan associated with the hijackers. A review of Hasan's computer and his multiple e-mail accounts has revealed visits to websites espousing radical Islamist
ideas, a senior law enforcement official said.
Once, while presenting what was supposed to be a medical lecture to other psychiatrists, Hasan instead talked about Islam, and stated that non-believers would be sent to hell, decapitated, set on fire, and have burning oil poured down their throats. A Muslim psychiatrist in the audience raised his hand, and challenged Hasan's claims. According to Associated Press
, Hasan's lecture also "justified suicide bombings."
According to National Public Radio (NPR), officials at Walter Reed Medical Center repeatedly expressed concern about Hasan's behavior during the entire six years he was there; Hasan's supervisors gave him poor evaluations and warned him that he was doing substandard work. In the spring of 2008 (and on later occasions) several key officials met to discuss what to do about Hasan. Attendees of these meetings reportedly included the Walter Reed chief of psychiatry, the chairman of the USUHS Psychiatry Department, two assistant chairs of the USUHS Psychiatry Department (one of whom was the director of Hasan's psychiatry fellowship), another psychiatrist, and the director of the Walter Reed psychiatric residency program. According to NPR, fellow students and faculty were strongly troubled by Hasan's behavior, which they described as "disconnected," "aloof," "paranoid," "belligerent," and "schizoid."
Hasan has expressed admiration for the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki
, imam
at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque between 2000 and 2002. As Al-Awlaki was under surveillance, Hasan was investigated by the FBI after intelligence agencies intercepted 18 emails between them between December 2008 and June 2009. In one, Hasan wrote: "I can't wait to join you" in the afterlife. Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, a military analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies
, suggested that Hasan was "either offering himself up or [had] already crossed that line in his own mind." Hasan also asked al-Awlaki when jihad is appropriate, and whether it is permissible if innocents are killed in a suicide attack.
Army employees were informed of the contacts, but no threat was perceived; the emails were judged to be consistent with mental health research about Muslims in the armed services. A DC-based joint terrorism task force operating under the FBI was notified, and the information reviewed by one of its Defense Criminal Investigative Service employees, who concluded there was not sufficient information for a larger investigation. Despite two Defense Department investigators on two joint task forces having looked into Hasan's communications, higher-ups at the Department of Defense
stated they were not notified before the incident of such investigations.
In March 2010, Al-Awlaki alleged that the Obama administration attempted to portray Hasan's actions as an individual act of violence from an estranged individual, and that it attempted to suppress information to cushion the reaction of the American public. He said:
In July 2009 he was transferred from Washington's Walter Reed Medical to Fort Hood.
Hasan gave away furniture from his home on the morning of the shooting, saying he was going to be deployed. He also handed out copies of the Qur'an
, along with his business cards which listed a Maryland phone number and read "Behavioral Heatlh – Mental Health – Life Skills | Nidal Hasan, MD, MPH | SoA(SWT) | Psychiatrist". According to investigators, the acronym "SoA" is commonly used on jihadist websites as an acronym for "Soldier of Allah" or "Servant of Allah", and SWT is commonly used by Muslims to mean "subhanahu wa ta'ala
" (Glory to God). The cards did not reflect his military rank.
, remarked that Hasan's psychiatrist colleagues "failed to notice how deeply disturbed someone right in their midst was." A spokesperson for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
, one of the first officials to comment on Hasan's background, told reporters that Hasan was upset about his deployment to Afghanistan
on November 28. Noel Hamad, Hasan's aunt, said that the family was not aware he was being sent to Afghanistan.
The Dallas Morning News
reported on November 17 that ABC News, citing anonymous sources, reported that investigators suspect that the shootings were triggered by superiors' refusal to process Hasan’s requests that some of his patients be prosecuted for war crime
s based on statements they made during psychiatric sessions with him. Dallas attorney Patrick McLain, a former Marine, opined that Hasan may have been legally justified in reporting what patients disclosed, but that it was impossible to be sure without knowing exactly what was said, while fellow psychiatrists complained to superiors that Hasan's actions violated doctor-patient confidentiality.
Senator Joe Lieberman
called for a probe by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
, which he chairs. Lieberman said "it's premature to reach conclusions about what motivated Hasan ... I think it's very important to let the Army and the FBI go forward with this investigation before we reach any conclusions." Two weeks later, Lieberman labeled the shooting "the most destructive terrorist attack on America since September 11, 2001."
Michael Welner
, M.D., a leading forensic psychiatrist
with experience examining mass shooters, said that the shooting had elements common to both ideological and workplace mass shootings. Welner, who believed the motivation was to create a "spectacle", said that a trauma care worker, even one afflicted with stress, would not be expected to be homicidal toward his patients unless his ideology trumped his Hippocratic oath–and this was borne out in his shouting "Allahu Akhbar" as he killed the unarmed. An analyst of terror investigations, Carl Tobias, opined that the attack did not fit the profile of terrorism, and was more reminiscent of the Virginia Tech massacre
.
However, Michael Scheuer
, the retired former head of the Bin Laden Issue Station
, and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey have called the event a terrorist attack, as has terrorism expert Walid Phares
. Retired General Barry McCaffrey
said on Anderson Cooper 360°
that "it's starting to appear as if this was a domestic terrorist attack on fellow soldiers by a major in the Army who we educated for six years while he was giving off these vibes of disloyalty to his own force."
Some of Hasan's former colleagues have said he performed substandard work and occasionally unnerved them by expressing fervent Islamic views and deep opposition to the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Brian Levin of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism wrote that the case sits at the crossroads of crime, terrorism and mental distress. He compared the possible role of religion to the beliefs of Scott Roeder, a Christian who murdered Dr. George Tiller, who practiced abortion. Such offenders "often self-radicalize from a volatile mix of personal distress, psychological issues, and an ideology that can be sculpted to justify and explain their anti-social leanings."
Hasan had shared his beliefs with associate Duane Reasoner Jr that "you're not supposed to have alliances with Jews or Christian or others, and if you are killed in the military fighting against Muslims, you will go to hell." Reasoner further refused to condemn the attack as Hasan's brother, explaining "they were troops who were going to Afghanistan and Iraq to kill Muslims. I honestly have no pity for them."
for the victims. Reaction to his memorial speech was largely positive, with some deeming it one of his best. The speech was criticized by a Wall Street Journal reporter, who found the speech largely absent of emotion, while a National Review
columnist criticized Obama for refusing to acknowledge Islamic terrorism as having a role in the shooting.
, commander of III Corps at Fort Hood, said on the day of the shooting that terrorism was not being ruled out, but preliminary evidence did not suggest that the shooting was terrorism. Retired Army colonel Terry Lee, who had worked with Hasan said he had indicated that he hoped Obama would withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and had argued with military colleagues who supported the wars.
pledged that his department would do "everything in its power to help the Fort Hood community get through these difficult times." The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin
, and numerous politicians, expressed condolences to the victims and their families.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
stated "we object to—and do not believe—that anti-Muslim sentiment should emanate from this ... This was an individual who does not, obviously, represent the Muslim faith." Chief of Staff
Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. said "I'm concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers ... Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse."
chapter in part demanded that the military radically overhaul its mental health care system and halt the practice of repeated deployment of the same troops.
, said that "This latest tragedy, at a heavily fortified army base, ought to convince more Americans to reject the argument that the solution to gun violence is to arm more people with more guns in more places." However, Lt. General Cone stated: "As a matter of practice, we do not carry weapons on Fort Hood. This is our home." Military weapons are only used for training or by base security, and personal weapons must be kept locked away by the provost marshal
. Specialist Jerry Richard, a soldier working at the Readiness Center, expressed the opinion that this policy had left them unnecessarily vulnerable to violent assaults: "Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can't even defend yourself."
condemned the shooting; Salman al-Ouda
, a dissident Saudi
cleric and former inspiration to Osama bin Laden
, condemned the shooting saying the incident would have bad consequences: "...undoubtedly this man might have a psychological problem; he may be a psychiatrist but he [also] might have had psychological distress, as he was being commissioned to go to Iraq or Afghanistan, and he was capable of refusing to work whatever the consequences were." The senior analyst at the NEFA Foundation described Ouda’s comments as "a good indication of how far on a tangent Anwar al-Awlaki is."
reported that President Obama had authorized the targeted killing
of al-Awlaki. On September 30th, 2011, two Predator drones fired missiles at a vehicle with al-Awlaki aboard, killing him and Samir Khan
.
, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
, and the Texas Rangers Division. As a member of the military, Hasan is subject to the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(military law). He is being represented by Belton, Texas
-based John P. Galligan, a criminal defense attorney and retired US Army Colonel. Hasan regained consciousness on November 9, but refused to talk to investigators.
The investigative officer in charge of his article 32 hearing
was Colonel James L. Pohl
, who had previously led the investigation into the Abu Ghraib
abuses, and is the Chief Presiding Officer
of the Guantanamo military commissions.
On November 9, the FBI said that investigators believed Hasan had apparently acted alone. They disclosed that they had reviewed evidence which included 2008 conversations with an individual that an official identified as Anwar al-Awlaki
, but said they did not find any evidence that Hasan had direct help or outside orders in the shootings. According to a November 11 press release, after preliminary examination of Hasan’s computers and internet activity, they had found no information to indicate he had any co-conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot "at this point" of what they stressed were the "early stages" of the review. Though Hasan had frequented jihad
ist web sites promoting radical Islamic views, they said no e-mail communications with outside facilitators or known terrorists were found. Investigators were evaluating reports that, in 2001, Hasan had attended a mosque in Virginia once attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers and headed by Anwar al-Awlaki, who had been accused of aiding the 9/11 plot. Investigators were looking at potential inspiration, to determine if al-Awlaki's teachings could have radicalized Hasan.
Army officials stated "Right now we're operating on the belief that he acted alone and had no help". No motive for the shootings was offered, but they believed Hasan had authored an Internet posting that appeared to support suicide bombings. Sen. Lieberman opined that Hasan was clearly under personal stress and may have turned to Islamic extremism. Unofficially, Rep. John Carter remarked "When he shouted 'Allahu Akbar,' he gave a clear indication that his faith or Muslim view of the world had something to do with it."
In pressing charges on Hasan, the Department of Defense and the DoJ
agreed that Hasan would be prosecuted in a military court, which observers noted was consistent with investigators concluding he had acted alone. During a November 21 hearing in Hasan's hospital room, a magistrate ruled that there was probable cause
that Hasan committed the November 5 shooting, and ordered that he be held in pre-trial confinement after he is released from hospital care. On November 12 and December 2, respectively, Hasan was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder
and 32 counts of attempted murder by the Army; he may face additional charges at court-martial
.
A 14th count of murder for the death of the unborn child of Francheska Velez has not been filed. Such charge is available to prosecutors under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act
and Article 119a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If civilian prosecutors indict him for being part of a terrorist plot, it could justify moving all or part of his case into federal criminal courts
under U.S. anti-terrorism laws. The military justice system rarely carries out capital punishment—and no executions have been carried out since 1961, although, no incidents involving mass murder
have been prosecuted by the military since then. (From 1916 to 1961, the U.S. Army executed 135 people.) A Rasmussen national survey
found that 65% of Americans favored the death penalty in Hasan's case, and that 60% want the case investigated as an act of terrorism.
Hasan was formally arraigned on July 20, 2011. He did not enter a plea, and the judge granted a request by Hasan's attorney's that a plea be entered at a later, unspecified, date. The judge set a trial date for Maj. Hasan's court martial for March 5, 2012.
(JTTF). Communications between Hasan and al-Awlaki, and other similar communications, were reviewed and considered to be consistent with Hasan's research on radical beliefs at the Walter Reed Medical Center. "Because the content of the communications was explainable by his research and nothing else derogatory was found, the JTTF concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning." However, both the FBI and the Department of Defense plan to review if this assessment was handled correctly.
FBI Director Robert Mueller
appointed William Webster, a former director of the FBI, to conduct an independent FBI review of the bureau's handling of possible warning signs from Hasan. The review is expected to be long-term and in-depth, with Webster selected for the job due to being, as Mueller put it, "uniquely qualified" for such a review.
On January 15, 2010, the Department of Defense released the findings of the departmental investigation, which found that the Department was unprepared to defend against internal threats. Secretary Robert Gates
said that previous incidents had not drawn enough attention to workplace violence and "self-radicalization" within the military. He also suggested that some officials may be held responsible for not drawing attention to Hasan prior to the shooting. The Department report did not touch upon Hasan's motivations, including his multiple contacts with Anwar al-Awlaki, and his yelling "Allahu Akhbar
" as he began the attack.
James Corum
, a retired Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel and Dean at the Baltic Defence College
in Estonia, called the Defense Department report "a travesty", for failing to mention Hasan's devotion to Islam and his radicalization prior to the attack. Texas Representative John Carter was also critical of the report, saying he felt the government was "afraid to be accused of profiling somebody". John Lehman, a member of the 9/11 Commission
and Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan
, said he felt that the report "shows you how deeply entrenched the values of political correctness have become." Similarly, columnist Debra Saunders
of the San Francisco Chronicle
wrote: "Even ... if the report's purpose was to craft lessons to prevent future attacks, how could they leave out radical Islam?" The leaders of the investigation, former Secretary of the Army Togo West
and retired Admiral Vernon Clark, responded to criticism by saying their "concern is with actions and effects, not necessarily with motivations", and that they did not want to conflict with the criminal investigation on Hasan that was under way.
In February 2010 the Boston Globe obtained a confidential internal report detailing results of the Army's investigation. According to the Globe, the report concluded officers within the Army were aware of Hasan's tendencies toward radical Islam since 2005, and adduced one incident in 2007 in which Hasan gave a classroom presentation titled "Is the War on Terrorism a War on Islam: An Islamic Perspective". The instructor interrupted Hasan's presentation as it appeared he was justifying terrorism, according to the Globe. Despite receiving complaints about this presentation, and other statements suggestive of his conflicted loyalties, Hasan's superior officers took no action, believing Hasan's comments were protected under the First Amendment
and that having a Muslim psychiatrist contributed to diversity. However, the investigation noted Hasan's statements might have been grounds for removing him from service as the First Amendment did not apply to soldiers the same way as for civilians.
released the report "Assessing the Terrorist Threat" which concluded that "in 2009 at least 43 American citizens or residents aligned with Sunni militant groups or their ideology were
charged or convicted of terrorism crimes in the U.S. or elsewhere, the highest number in any year since 9/11". They included Fort Hood and the 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting
as the two successful terrorist attacks, even though neither case has been prosecuted as such.
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation
Deployments of the United States Military
The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with more than 369,000 of its 1,580,255 active-duty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories. Most of these overseas personnel are deployed in combat zones in the Middle east, as part...
in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas
Killeen, Texas
Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, The United States. The population was 86,911 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, Killeen had 119,510 people. In 2010 Killeen's population shot to 127,921...
. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others. It is the worst shooting ever to take place on an American military base.
The sole suspect is Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....
, a U.S. Army Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
serving as a psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. He was shot and taken into custody by Department of the Army Civilian Police
Department of the Army Civilian Police
Department of the Army Civilian Police, are the uniformed civilian police officers of the United States Army. They are also referred to as DoD Police. The Department of the Army Civilian Police are responsible for law enforcement and security services on U.S. Army owned and leased buildings,...
officers, and is now paralyzed from the chest down. Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder
Premeditated murder
Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.State laws in the United States vary as to definitions...
and 32 counts of attempted murder under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
; he may face additional charges at court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
. If he is convicted, there is a chance he could be given the death penalty.
Hasan is an American-born Muslim of Palestinian descent
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
. Internal Army reports indicate officers within the Army had discussed what they characterized as Hasan's tendencies toward radical Islam since 2005. Additionally, investigations before and after the shooting discovered e-mail communications between Hasan and Yemen-based cleric Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
, who quickly declared Hasan a hero, as "fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty". After communications between the two were forwarded to FBI terrorism task forces in 2008, they determined that Hasan was not a threat prior to the shooting and that his questions to al-Awlaki were consistent with medical research.
In November 2009, after examining the e-mails and previous terrorism investigations, the FBI had found no information to indicate Hasan had any co-conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot. The U.S. later classified Anwar al-Awlaki as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the UN considered Awlaki to be associated with al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
; Awlaki was killed by a U.S. predator drone missile attack in 2011. However, one year after the Fort Hood shooting, questions still lingered as to whether the incident was caused by mental health issues, and government agencies still had not officially linked Hasan to any radical terrorist groups.
Shootings
Preparations
According to pretrial testimony, Hasan entered the Guns Galore store in KilleenKilleen, Texas
Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, The United States. The population was 86,911 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, Killeen had 119,510 people. In 2010 Killeen's population shot to 127,921...
on July 31, 2009, and purchased the FN Five-seven semi-automatic pistol that he was to use in the attack at Fort Hood. According to Army Specialist
Specialist (rank)
Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...
William Gilbert, a regular customer at the store, Hasan entered the store and abruptly asked for "the most technologically advanced weapon on the market and the one with the highest magazine capacity." Hasan was allegedly asked how he intended to use the weapon, but didn't give a straight answer, insisting that he simply wanted the most advanced handgun with the largest magazine capacity. The three individuals conversing with Hasan—Gilbert, the store manager, and an employee—all agreed upon the FN Five-seven pistol. Gilbert, who personally owned one of the pistols, spent nearly an hour describing it to Hasan, explaining that the gun was extremely lightweight and accurate, and telling him that the bullets it fires cause severe damage on impact.
When the conversation ended, Hasan left the store, saying he needed to research the weapon. He returned to purchase the gun the next day, and visited the store on a weekly basis to buy extra magazines, along with hundreds of rounds of 5.7×28mm SS192 and SS197SR ammunition. In the weeks prior to the attack, Hasan visited an outdoor shooting range in Florence
Florence, Texas
Florence is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,054 at the 2000 census, and 1,109 in the 2005 census estimate.-Geography:Florence is located at...
, where he allegedly became adept at hitting silhouette targets at distances of up to 100 yards.
Soldier Readiness Processing Center shootings
At approximately 1:34 pm local time, Hasan entered his workplace, the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where personnel receive routine medical treatment immediately prior to and on return from deployment. He was armed with the FN Five-seven pistol, which he had fitted with two Lasermax laser sights: one red, and one green. A .357 Magnum.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
revolver was later found on Hasan's person, but it was not used to shoot any of the victims.
According to eyewitnesses, Hasan had taken a seat at an empty table and bowed his head for several seconds when he suddenly stood up, shouted "Allahu Akbar
Takbir
The Takbīr or Tekbir is the Arabic term for the phrase ' . It is usually translated "God is [the] Greatest," or "God is Great". It is a common Islamic Arabic expression...
!" and opened fire. Witnesses said Hasan initially "sprayed bullets at soldiers in a fanlike motion" before taking aim at individual soldiers. Eyewitness Sgt. Michael Davis said: "The rate of fire was pretty much constant shooting. When I initially heard it it sounded like an M16
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
."
Army reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
Captain John Gaffaney attempted to stop Hasan by charging him, but was mortally wounded before he could reach him. Civilian physician assistant
Physician assistant
A physician assistant/associate ' is a healthcare professional trained and licensed to practice medicine with limited supervision by a physician.-General description:...
Michael Cahill also tried to charge Hasan with a chair, but was shot and killed. Army reserve Specialist Logan Burnette tried to stop Hasan by throwing a folding table at him, but he was shot in the left hip, fell down, and crawled to a nearby cubicle.
According to testimony from witnesses, Hasan passed up several opportunities to shoot civilians, and instead focused on soldiers in uniform. At one point, Hasan reportedly approached a group of five civilians hiding under a desk. He looked at them, swept the dot of his pistol's laser sight over one of the men's faces, and then turned away without firing.
Base civilian police
Department of the Army Civilian Police
Department of the Army Civilian Police, are the uniformed civilian police officers of the United States Army. They are also referred to as DoD Police. The Department of the Army Civilian Police are responsible for law enforcement and security services on U.S. Army owned and leased buildings,...
Sergeant Kimberly Munley, who had rushed to the scene in her patrol car, encountered Hasan in the area outside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center. Hasan fired at Munley, who exchanged shots with him using her 9mm M9 pistol
M9 Pistol
The Beretta M9, formally Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is a 9×19mm Parabellum pistol of the United States military adopted in 1985. It is essentially a military specification Beretta 92F, later the 92FS....
. Munley's hand was hit by shrapnel when one of Hasan's bullets struck a nearby rain gutter, and then two bullets struck Munley: the first bullet hit her thigh, and the second hit her knee. As she began to fall from the first bullet, the second bullet struck her femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
, severely shattering it and knocking her to the ground. Hasan then walked up to Munley and kicked her pistol out of reach.
As the shooting continued outside, nurses and medics entered the building, secured the doors with a belt and rushed to help the wounded. According to the responding nurses, the blood loss inside the building was so heavy they were unable to maintain balance, and had difficulty reaching the wounded to help them. In the area outside the building, Hasan continued to shoot at fleeing soldiers, and civilian police Sergeant Mark Todd arrived and shouted commands at Hasan to surrender. Todd said: "Then he turned and fired a couple of rounds at me. I didn't hear him say a word, he just turned and fired." The two exchanged shots, and Hasan was felled by five shots from Todd, who then kicked his pistol out of his hand and placed him in handcuffs as he fell unconscious.
An investigator later testified that 146 spent shell casings were recovered inside the building. Another 68 casings were collected outside, for a total of 214 rounds fired by the attacker and responding police officers. A medic who treated Hasan said his pockets were full of pistol magazines. When the shooting ended, he was still carrying 177 rounds of unfired ammunition in his pockets, contained in both 20- and 30-round magazines. The incident, which lasted about 10 minutes, resulted in 30 people wounded, and 13 killed12 soldiers and one civilian; 11 died at the scene, and two died later in a hospital.
Initially, three soldiers were believed to have been involved in the shooting; two other soldiers were detained, but subsequently released. The Fort Hood website posted a notice indicating that the shooting was not a drill. Immediately after the shooting, the base and surrounding areas were locked down
Lockdown
There are several definitions for the term lockdown, the most common of which pertains to a state of containment or a restriction of progression....
by military police and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) until around 7 pm local time. In addition, Texas Rangers
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
, Texas DPS troopers
Texas Highway Patrol
The Texas Highway Patrol is a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and has the responsibility for general police traffic supervision, traffic, and criminal law enforcement on the rural highways of Texas...
, deputies from the Bell County Sheriff's Office
Bell County, Texas
Bell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Bell County was founded in 1850. It is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2000, the county's population was 237,974; in 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that its population had reached...
, and FBI agents from Austin and Waco were dispatched. President Obama was briefed on the incident and later made a statement about the shooting.
On November 5, 2010, one year later, 52 individuals received awards for their actions in the shooting. The Soldier's Medal
Soldier's Medal
The Soldier's Medal is a military award of the United States Army. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the Congress of the United States on July 2, 1926...
was awarded to 10 soldiers, one of which was Captain John Gaffaney, who died attempting to charge the shooter. The Secretary of the Army Award for Valor
Secretary of the Army Award for Valor
The Secretary of the Army Award for Valor was established 15 April 2002, to acknowledge acts of heroism or bravery connected with an Army employee or Army activity, or that is some way benefits the Army. The performance of the act must be evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of...
was awarded to police officers Kimberly Munley and Mark Todd, for the roles they played in stopping the shooter. On May 23, 2011, the Army Award for Valor was also posthumously awarded to civilian physician assistant
Physician assistant
A physician assistant/associate ' is a healthcare professional trained and licensed to practice medicine with limited supervision by a physician.-General description:...
Michael Cahill, who died attempting to charge the shooter with a chair.
Casualties
There were 43 casualties in the shooting. Among the 13 killed were 12 soldiers (one of whom was pregnant) and one Army civilian employee. Thirty others, including the shooter, were wounded and required hospitalization. Hasan, the alleged gunman, was taken to Scott & White hospital, a trauma center in Temple, Texas, and later moved to Brooke Army Medical CenterBrooke Army Medical Center
Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio is part of the United States Army Medical Command. It is a University of Texas Health Science Center and USUHS teaching hospital and contains the Army Burn Center....
in San Antonio ,Texas, where he was held under heavy guard. Hasan was hit by at least four shots, and is said to be quadriplegic. He is currently being held at the Bell County jail in Belton, Texas.
Ten of the injured were treated at a trauma center in Temple, Texas
Temple, Texas
Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin and 34 miles south of Waco. In the 2010 Census, Temple's population was 66,102, an...
. Seven more wounded victims were taken to Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen. Eight others received hospital treatment for shock. Of those wounded at least 17 were service-members, and at least seven were civilians. On November 20, it was announced that eight of the wounded service members will still deploy overseas.
Fatalities
The 13 killed were:| Name | Age | Hometown | Rank or occupation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Grant Cahill | 62 | Spokane Spokane, Washington Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region... , Washington |
Civilian Physician Assistant Physician assistant A physician assistant/associate ' is a healthcare professional trained and licensed to practice medicine with limited supervision by a physician.-General description:... |
| Libardo Eduardo Caraveo | 52 | Woodbridge Woodbridge, Virginia -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 31,941 people, 10,687 households, and 7,769 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,047.8 people per square mile . There were 11,026 housing units at an average density of 1,052.1/sq mi... , Virginia |
Major Major (United States) In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel... |
| Justin Michael DeCrow | 32 | Plymouth Plymouth, Indiana -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,840 people, 3,838 households, and 2,406 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,414.0 people per square mile . There were 4,100 housing units at an average density of 589.2 per square mile... , Indiana |
Staff Sergeant |
| John P. Gaffaney | 56 | Serra Mesa Serra Mesa, San Diego, California Serra Mesa is a community in San Diego, California. It is located between Interstate 805 and Interstate 15, north of Friars Road and south of Aero Drive. Serra Mesa is named for Father Junípero Serra, a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the Mission San Diego de Alcalá... , California |
Captain |
| Frederick Greene | 29 | Mountain City Mountain City, Tennessee Mountain City is a town in Johnson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,383 at the 2000 census. It is the northeasternmost county seat in Tennessee; Mountain City is the county seat of Johnson County.-History:... , Tennessee |
Specialist Specialist (rank) Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers... |
| Jason Dean Hunt | 22 | Tipton Tipton, Oklahoma Tipton is a town in Tillman County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 847 at the 2010 census.Tipton also is home to a home for children, founded in 1928, when Sol Tipton donated a plot of land to the founders... , Oklahoma |
Specialist |
| Amy Sue Krueger | 29 | Kiel Kiel, Wisconsin Kiel is a city in Calumet and Manitowoc Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,450 at the 2000 census. The city is located mostly within Manitowoc County, though a portion extends west into adjacent Calumet County.... , Wisconsin |
Staff Sergeant |
| Aaron Thomas Nemelka | 19 | West Jordan West Jordan, Utah West Jordan is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. West Jordan is a rapidly growing suburb of Salt Lake City and has a mixed economy. According to the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 103,712, placing it as the fourth most populated in the state. The city occupies the... , Utah |
Private First Class |
| Michael S. Pearson | 22 | Bolingbrook Bolingbrook, Illinois Bolingbrook is a large village in Will and DuPage Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 US Census, the population is 73,366... , Illinois |
Private First Class |
| Russell Gilbert Seager | 51 | Racine Racine, Wisconsin Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196... , Wisconsin |
Captain |
| Francheska Velez ‡ | 21 | Chicago, Illinois | Private First Class |
| Juanita L. Warman | 55 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant Colonel (United States) In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay... |
| Kham See Xiong | 23 | Saint Paul Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city... , Minnesota |
Private First Class |
-
- ‡ Francheska Velez was pregnant at the time of her death; the unborn child did not survive.
Suspect
Major Nidal Malik HasanNidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....
, M.D., a 39-year-old U.S. Army psychiatrist of Palestinian descent, is the sole suspect in the shootings. Hasan is a practicing Muslim who, according to one of his cousins, became more devout after the deaths of his parents in 1998 and 2001. His cousin did not recall him ever expressing radical or anti-American
Anti-Americanism
The term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
views. Another cousin, Nader Hasan, a lawyer in Virginia, said that Nidal Hasan's opinion turned against the wars after he heard stories from people who returned from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Hasan attended the Dar Al-Hijrah
Dar al-Hijrah
The Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is a mosque in Northern Virginia. It is located in Culmore, Lake Barcroft area of unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, directly between the Bailey's Crossroads, and Seven Corners, Virginia, US Post Offices.-Background:...
mosque in Falls Church, Virginia
Falls Church, Virginia
The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
, in 2001, at the same time as Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
and Hani Hanjour
Hani Hanjour
Hani Saleh Hasan Hanjour was the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77, crashing the plane into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
, two of the hijackers in the September 11 attacks. A law enforcement official said that the FBI will probably look into whether Hasan associated with the hijackers. A review of Hasan's computer and his multiple e-mail accounts has revealed visits to websites espousing radical Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
ideas, a senior law enforcement official said.
Once, while presenting what was supposed to be a medical lecture to other psychiatrists, Hasan instead talked about Islam, and stated that non-believers would be sent to hell, decapitated, set on fire, and have burning oil poured down their throats. A Muslim psychiatrist in the audience raised his hand, and challenged Hasan's claims. According to Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, Hasan's lecture also "justified suicide bombings."
According to National Public Radio (NPR), officials at Walter Reed Medical Center repeatedly expressed concern about Hasan's behavior during the entire six years he was there; Hasan's supervisors gave him poor evaluations and warned him that he was doing substandard work. In the spring of 2008 (and on later occasions) several key officials met to discuss what to do about Hasan. Attendees of these meetings reportedly included the Walter Reed chief of psychiatry, the chairman of the USUHS Psychiatry Department, two assistant chairs of the USUHS Psychiatry Department (one of whom was the director of Hasan's psychiatry fellowship), another psychiatrist, and the director of the Walter Reed psychiatric residency program. According to NPR, fellow students and faculty were strongly troubled by Hasan's behavior, which they described as "disconnected," "aloof," "paranoid," "belligerent," and "schizoid."
Hasan has expressed admiration for the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
, imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque between 2000 and 2002. As Al-Awlaki was under surveillance, Hasan was investigated by the FBI after intelligence agencies intercepted 18 emails between them between December 2008 and June 2009. In one, Hasan wrote: "I can't wait to join you" in the afterlife. Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, a military analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies
Center for Advanced Defense Studies
The Center for Advanced Defense Studies is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit, non-governmental, and non-partisan national security group. The organization focuses on promoting research, providing education and influencing policy about global security issues...
, suggested that Hasan was "either offering himself up or [had] already crossed that line in his own mind." Hasan also asked al-Awlaki when jihad is appropriate, and whether it is permissible if innocents are killed in a suicide attack.
Army employees were informed of the contacts, but no threat was perceived; the emails were judged to be consistent with mental health research about Muslims in the armed services. A DC-based joint terrorism task force operating under the FBI was notified, and the information reviewed by one of its Defense Criminal Investigative Service employees, who concluded there was not sufficient information for a larger investigation. Despite two Defense Department investigators on two joint task forces having looked into Hasan's communications, higher-ups at the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
stated they were not notified before the incident of such investigations.
In March 2010, Al-Awlaki alleged that the Obama administration attempted to portray Hasan's actions as an individual act of violence from an estranged individual, and that it attempted to suppress information to cushion the reaction of the American public. He said:
- Until this moment the administration is refusing to release the e-mails exchanged between myself and Nidal. And after the operation of our brother Umar Farouk the initial comments coming from the administration were looking the same – another attempt at covering up the truth. But Al Qaeda cut off Obama from deceiving the world again by issuing their statement claiming responsibility for the operation.
In July 2009 he was transferred from Washington's Walter Reed Medical to Fort Hood.
Hasan gave away furniture from his home on the morning of the shooting, saying he was going to be deployed. He also handed out copies of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
, along with his business cards which listed a Maryland phone number and read "Behavioral Heatlh – Mental Health – Life Skills | Nidal Hasan, MD, MPH | SoA(SWT) | Psychiatrist". According to investigators, the acronym "SoA" is commonly used on jihadist websites as an acronym for "Soldier of Allah" or "Servant of Allah", and SWT is commonly used by Muslims to mean "subhanahu wa ta'ala
Subhanahu wa ta'ala
Subhanahu wa-ta'ala is an Islamic Arabic phrase that can be translated in English as:*glorified and exalted be He*may He be glorified and exalted...
" (Glory to God). The cards did not reflect his military rank.
Possible motivation
Immediately after the shooting, analysts and public officials openly debated Hasan's motive and preceding psychological state: A military activist, Selena CoppaSelena Coppa
Selena Danielle Coppa was a military intelligence Sergeant in the United States Army. She is primarily notable for her organizing and activism against the US Occupation of Iraq while serving as an active duty military member, including serving on the Executive Board of Iraq Veterans Against the War...
, remarked that Hasan's psychiatrist colleagues "failed to notice how deeply disturbed someone right in their midst was." A spokesperson for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Kathryn Ann Bailey Hutchison, known as Kay Bailey Hutchison , is the senior United States Senator from Texas.She is a member of the Republican Party. In 2001, she was named one of the thirty most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal. The first woman to represent Texas in the U.S....
, one of the first officials to comment on Hasan's background, told reporters that Hasan was upset about his deployment to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
on November 28. Noel Hamad, Hasan's aunt, said that the family was not aware he was being sent to Afghanistan.
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
reported on November 17 that ABC News, citing anonymous sources, reported that investigators suspect that the shootings were triggered by superiors' refusal to process Hasan’s requests that some of his patients be prosecuted for war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s based on statements they made during psychiatric sessions with him. Dallas attorney Patrick McLain, a former Marine, opined that Hasan may have been legally justified in reporting what patients disclosed, but that it was impossible to be sure without knowing exactly what was said, while fellow psychiatrists complained to superiors that Hasan's actions violated doctor-patient confidentiality.
Senator Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
called for a probe by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland security concerns, as well as the functioning of the government itself, including the National Archives, budget and...
, which he chairs. Lieberman said "it's premature to reach conclusions about what motivated Hasan ... I think it's very important to let the Army and the FBI go forward with this investigation before we reach any conclusions." Two weeks later, Lieberman labeled the shooting "the most destructive terrorist attack on America since September 11, 2001."
Michael Welner
Michael Welner
Michael Mark Welner, M.D., is an American Forensic Psychiatrist. He is founder and Chairman of The Forensic Panel, a forensic science practice, is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Law Duquesne University School of Law...
, M.D., a leading forensic psychiatrist
Forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry is a sub-speciality of psychiatry and an auxiliar science of criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry...
with experience examining mass shooters, said that the shooting had elements common to both ideological and workplace mass shootings. Welner, who believed the motivation was to create a "spectacle", said that a trauma care worker, even one afflicted with stress, would not be expected to be homicidal toward his patients unless his ideology trumped his Hippocratic oath–and this was borne out in his shouting "Allahu Akhbar" as he killed the unarmed. An analyst of terror investigations, Carl Tobias, opined that the attack did not fit the profile of terrorism, and was more reminiscent of the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
.
However, Michael Scheuer
Michael Scheuer
Michael F. Scheuer is a former CIA intelligence officer, American blogger, historian, foreign policy critic, and political analyst. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies...
, the retired former head of the Bin Laden Issue Station
Bin Laden Issue Station
The Bin Laden Issue Station was a unit of the Central Intelligence Agency dedicated to tracking Osama bin Laden.Soon after its creation the Station developed a new, deadlier vision of bin Laden's activities. In 1999 the CIA inaugurated a grand "Plan" against al-Qaeda, but struggled to find the...
, and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey have called the event a terrorist attack, as has terrorism expert Walid Phares
Walid Phares
Walid Phares an American scholar of Lebanese origins, he is a professor and commentator on global terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs.Phares has testified before committees of the U.S. State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security Departments, the United States Congress, the European Parliament,...
. Retired General Barry McCaffrey
Barry McCaffrey
Barry Richard McCaffrey is a retired United States Army general, former U.S. Drug Czar, news commentator, and business consultant....
said on Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360° is a one-hour television news show on CNN, hosted by the American journalist Anderson Cooper. It is also broadcast around the world on CNN International....
that "it's starting to appear as if this was a domestic terrorist attack on fellow soldiers by a major in the Army who we educated for six years while he was giving off these vibes of disloyalty to his own force."
Some of Hasan's former colleagues have said he performed substandard work and occasionally unnerved them by expressing fervent Islamic views and deep opposition to the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Brian Levin of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism wrote that the case sits at the crossroads of crime, terrorism and mental distress. He compared the possible role of religion to the beliefs of Scott Roeder, a Christian who murdered Dr. George Tiller, who practiced abortion. Such offenders "often self-radicalize from a volatile mix of personal distress, psychological issues, and an ideology that can be sculpted to justify and explain their anti-social leanings."
Hasan had shared his beliefs with associate Duane Reasoner Jr that "you're not supposed to have alliances with Jews or Christian or others, and if you are killed in the military fighting against Muslims, you will go to hell." Reasoner further refused to condemn the attack as Hasan's brother, explaining "they were troops who were going to Afghanistan and Iraq to kill Muslims. I honestly have no pity for them."
Reaction
President Obama
The U.S. President's initial response to the attack came during a scheduled speech at the Tribal Nations Conference for America’s 564 federally recognized Native American tribes. Obama was criticized by the media for being "insensitive", as he addressed the shooting only three minutes into his prepared speech, and then for not according it sufficient gravitas. Later, the President delivered the memorial eulogyEulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
for the victims. Reaction to his memorial speech was largely positive, with some deeming it one of his best. The speech was criticized by a Wall Street Journal reporter, who found the speech largely absent of emotion, while a National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
columnist criticized Obama for refusing to acknowledge Islamic terrorism as having a role in the shooting.
Fort Hood personnel
Lt. Gen. Robert W. ConeRobert W. Cone
Robert William Cone is a United States Army four-star general and is currently the Commanding General of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. He assumed command of TRADOC on 29 April 2011...
, commander of III Corps at Fort Hood, said on the day of the shooting that terrorism was not being ruled out, but preliminary evidence did not suggest that the shooting was terrorism. Retired Army colonel Terry Lee, who had worked with Hasan said he had indicated that he hoped Obama would withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and had argued with military colleagues who supported the wars.
U.S. government
A spokesman for the Defense Department called the shooting an "isolated and tragic case", and Defense Secretary Robert GatesRobert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
pledged that his department would do "everything in its power to help the Fort Hood community get through these difficult times." The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin
Carl Levin
Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, and numerous politicians, expressed condolences to the victims and their families.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano
Janet Napolitano is the third and current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is the fourth person to hold the position, which was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 21st...
stated "we object to—and do not believe—that anti-Muslim sentiment should emanate from this ... This was an individual who does not, obviously, represent the Muslim faith." Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. said "I'm concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers ... Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that’s worse."
Veteran groups
In an open letter to President Obama, the Fort Hood Iraq Veterans Against the WarIraq Veterans Against the War
Iraq Veterans Against the War is an advocacy group of active-duty United States military personnel, Iraq War veterans, Afghanistan War veterans, and other veterans who have served since the September 11, 2001 attacks who are opposed to the U.S. occupation of Iraq...
chapter in part demanded that the military radically overhaul its mental health care system and halt the practice of repeated deployment of the same troops.
Gun control advocates
President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Paul HelmkePaul Helmke
Walter Paul Helmke, Jr. is an American politician, and the former president of the Washington, DC-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. He held this position from July 2006 to July 10, 2011...
, said that "This latest tragedy, at a heavily fortified army base, ought to convince more Americans to reject the argument that the solution to gun violence is to arm more people with more guns in more places." However, Lt. General Cone stated: "As a matter of practice, we do not carry weapons on Fort Hood. This is our home." Military weapons are only used for training or by base security, and personal weapons must be kept locked away by the provost marshal
Provost Marshal
The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
. Specialist Jerry Richard, a soldier working at the Readiness Center, expressed the opinion that this policy had left them unnecessarily vulnerable to violent assaults: "Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can't even defend yourself."
American Muslim groups
The Council on American-Islamic RelationsCouncil on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...
condemned the shooting; Salman al-Ouda
Salman al-Ouda
Salman bin Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ouda or Salman al-Ouda , Salman al-Oadah, Salman Al-Audah, or Salman Al-Awdah -alias Abu Mu'ad - is a Saudi cleric or Sheikh and Muslim scholar. Al-Ouda is a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars and on its Board of Trustees...
, a dissident Saudi
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
cleric and former inspiration to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, condemned the shooting saying the incident would have bad consequences: "...undoubtedly this man might have a psychological problem; he may be a psychiatrist but he [also] might have had psychological distress, as he was being commissioned to go to Iraq or Afghanistan, and he was capable of refusing to work whatever the consequences were." The senior analyst at the NEFA Foundation described Ouda’s comments as "a good indication of how far on a tangent Anwar al-Awlaki is."
Anwar al-Awlaki
Soon after the attack, Anwar al-Awlaki posted praise for Hasan for the shooting on his website, and encouraged other Muslims serving in the military to "follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal." "Nidal Hasan is a hero, the fact that fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims." On April 6, 2010, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that President Obama had authorized the targeted killing
Targeted killing
Targeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...
of al-Awlaki. On September 30th, 2011, two Predator drones fired missiles at a vehicle with al-Awlaki aboard, killing him and Samir Khan
Samir Khan
Samir ibn Zafar Khan was the Pakistani American editor and publisher of Inspire magazine, an English language online magazine reported to be published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , in which he authored articles such as "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom"...
.
Hasan's family
Hasan's family has called the shooting "despicable and deplorable." They are currently working with Virginia law enforcement.Investigation and prosecution
The criminal investigation is being conducted jointly by the FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command
United States Army Criminal Investigation Command investigates felony crimes and serious violations of military law within the United States Army...
, and the Texas Rangers Division. As a member of the military, Hasan is subject to the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
(military law). He is being represented by Belton, Texas
Belton, Texas
Belton is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bell County.Belton is part of the Killeen – Temple – Fort Hood metropolitan area.-Geography:...
-based John P. Galligan, a criminal defense attorney and retired US Army Colonel. Hasan regained consciousness on November 9, but refused to talk to investigators.
The investigative officer in charge of his article 32 hearing
Article 32 hearing
An Article 32 hearing is a proceeding under the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice, similar to that of a preliminary hearing in civilian law. Its name is derived from UCMJ section VII Article An Article 32 hearing is a proceeding under the United States Uniform Code of Military...
was Colonel James L. Pohl
James L. Pohl
Colonel James L. Pohl is an American lawyer and an officer in the United States Army.He is notable for having been appointed the President of a Guantanamo military commission.He is Presiding over the Commission of Ahmed Darbi and Abd el-Rahim al-Nashiri....
, who had previously led the investigation into the Abu Ghraib
Abu Ghraib
The city of Abu Ghraib in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq is located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000. The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib...
abuses, and is the Chief Presiding Officer
Presiding Officer (Guantanamo Military Commissions)
The United States of America has charged Guantanamo captives before "Military Commissions", each presided over by a Presiding Officer.The Presiding Officer were initially to serve as the first among equals on bodies were the commission members served the roles similar to both judge and jury.In the...
of the Guantanamo military commissions.
On November 9, the FBI said that investigators believed Hasan had apparently acted alone. They disclosed that they had reviewed evidence which included 2008 conversations with an individual that an official identified as Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
, but said they did not find any evidence that Hasan had direct help or outside orders in the shootings. According to a November 11 press release, after preliminary examination of Hasan’s computers and internet activity, they had found no information to indicate he had any co-conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot "at this point" of what they stressed were the "early stages" of the review. Though Hasan had frequented jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
ist web sites promoting radical Islamic views, they said no e-mail communications with outside facilitators or known terrorists were found. Investigators were evaluating reports that, in 2001, Hasan had attended a mosque in Virginia once attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers and headed by Anwar al-Awlaki, who had been accused of aiding the 9/11 plot. Investigators were looking at potential inspiration, to determine if al-Awlaki's teachings could have radicalized Hasan.
Army officials stated "Right now we're operating on the belief that he acted alone and had no help". No motive for the shootings was offered, but they believed Hasan had authored an Internet posting that appeared to support suicide bombings. Sen. Lieberman opined that Hasan was clearly under personal stress and may have turned to Islamic extremism. Unofficially, Rep. John Carter remarked "When he shouted 'Allahu Akbar,' he gave a clear indication that his faith or Muslim view of the world had something to do with it."
In pressing charges on Hasan, the Department of Defense and the DoJ
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
agreed that Hasan would be prosecuted in a military court, which observers noted was consistent with investigators concluding he had acted alone. During a November 21 hearing in Hasan's hospital room, a magistrate ruled that there was probable cause
Probable cause
In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which an officer or agent of the law has the grounds to make an arrest, to conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest, etc. when criminal charges are being considered. It is also used to refer to the...
that Hasan committed the November 5 shooting, and ordered that he be held in pre-trial confinement after he is released from hospital care. On November 12 and December 2, respectively, Hasan was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder
Premeditated murder
Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.State laws in the United States vary as to definitions...
and 32 counts of attempted murder by the Army; he may face additional charges at court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
.
A 14th count of murder for the death of the unborn child of Francheska Velez has not been filed. Such charge is available to prosecutors under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act
Unborn Victims of Violence Act
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 is a United States law which recognizes a "child in utero" as a legal victim, if he or she is injured or killed during the commission of any of over 60 listed federal crimes of violence...
and Article 119a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If civilian prosecutors indict him for being part of a terrorist plot, it could justify moving all or part of his case into federal criminal courts
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
under U.S. anti-terrorism laws. The military justice system rarely carries out capital punishment—and no executions have been carried out since 1961, although, no incidents involving mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
have been prosecuted by the military since then. (From 1916 to 1961, the U.S. Army executed 135 people.) A Rasmussen national survey
Rasmussen Reports
Rasmussen Reports is an American media company that publishes and distributes information based on public opinion polling. Founded by pollster Scott Rasmussen in 2003, the company updates daily indexes including the President's job approval rating, and provides public opinion data, analysis, and...
found that 65% of Americans favored the death penalty in Hasan's case, and that 60% want the case investigated as an act of terrorism.
Hasan was formally arraigned on July 20, 2011. He did not enter a plea, and the judge granted a request by Hasan's attorney's that a plea be entered at a later, unspecified, date. The judge set a trial date for Maj. Hasan's court martial for March 5, 2012.
Internal investigations
The FBI noted that Hasan had first been brought to their attention in December 2008 by a Joint Terrorism Task ForceJoint Terrorism Task Force
A Joint Terrorism Task Force is a partnership between various U.S. law enforcement agencies that is charged with taking action against terrorism, which includes the investigation of crimes such as wire fraud and identity theft...
(JTTF). Communications between Hasan and al-Awlaki, and other similar communications, were reviewed and considered to be consistent with Hasan's research on radical beliefs at the Walter Reed Medical Center. "Because the content of the communications was explainable by his research and nothing else derogatory was found, the JTTF concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning." However, both the FBI and the Department of Defense plan to review if this assessment was handled correctly.
FBI Director Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller
Robert Swan Mueller III is the 6th and current Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation .-Early life:...
appointed William Webster, a former director of the FBI, to conduct an independent FBI review of the bureau's handling of possible warning signs from Hasan. The review is expected to be long-term and in-depth, with Webster selected for the job due to being, as Mueller put it, "uniquely qualified" for such a review.
On January 15, 2010, the Department of Defense released the findings of the departmental investigation, which found that the Department was unprepared to defend against internal threats. Secretary Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
said that previous incidents had not drawn enough attention to workplace violence and "self-radicalization" within the military. He also suggested that some officials may be held responsible for not drawing attention to Hasan prior to the shooting. The Department report did not touch upon Hasan's motivations, including his multiple contacts with Anwar al-Awlaki, and his yelling "Allahu Akhbar
Takbir
The Takbīr or Tekbir is the Arabic term for the phrase ' . It is usually translated "God is [the] Greatest," or "God is Great". It is a common Islamic Arabic expression...
" as he began the attack.
James Corum
James Corum
Dr James Sterling Corum is an American air power historian and authority on counter-insurgency.-Academic career:...
, a retired Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel and Dean at the Baltic Defence College
Baltic Defence College
The Baltic Defence College is a multi-lateral co-operative military college which educates officers from not only the three Baltic States , but also from NATO and EU States and other European States as Ukraine, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Romania.The core activity of BALTDEFCOL is...
in Estonia, called the Defense Department report "a travesty", for failing to mention Hasan's devotion to Islam and his radicalization prior to the attack. Texas Representative John Carter was also critical of the report, saying he felt the government was "afraid to be accused of profiling somebody". John Lehman, a member of the 9/11 Commission
9/11 Commission
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks", including preparedness for and the immediate response to...
and Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, said he felt that the report "shows you how deeply entrenched the values of political correctness have become." Similarly, columnist Debra Saunders
Debra Saunders
Debra J. Saunders is a conservative columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. Syndicated by Creators Syndicate, her thrice weekly column is also carried by newspapers throughout the country and on townhall.com. Saunders also blogs for the Chronicle under the moniker Token Conservative...
of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote: "Even ... if the report's purpose was to craft lessons to prevent future attacks, how could they leave out radical Islam?" The leaders of the investigation, former Secretary of the Army Togo West
Togo D. West, Jr.
Togo Dennis West, Jr. is an American attorney and public official who was the third person to occupy the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1998, during Clinton's second term, and was confirmed by the Senate on May 5, 1998. He had...
and retired Admiral Vernon Clark, responded to criticism by saying their "concern is with actions and effects, not necessarily with motivations", and that they did not want to conflict with the criminal investigation on Hasan that was under way.
In February 2010 the Boston Globe obtained a confidential internal report detailing results of the Army's investigation. According to the Globe, the report concluded officers within the Army were aware of Hasan's tendencies toward radical Islam since 2005, and adduced one incident in 2007 in which Hasan gave a classroom presentation titled "Is the War on Terrorism a War on Islam: An Islamic Perspective". The instructor interrupted Hasan's presentation as it appeared he was justifying terrorism, according to the Globe. Despite receiving complaints about this presentation, and other statements suggestive of his conflicted loyalties, Hasan's superior officers took no action, believing Hasan's comments were protected under the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
and that having a Muslim psychiatrist contributed to diversity. However, the investigation noted Hasan's statements might have been grounds for removing him from service as the First Amendment did not apply to soldiers the same way as for civilians.
Reports on terrorism
On September 10, 2010, the Bipartisan Policy CenterBipartisan Policy Center
The is a non-profit organization that "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue." Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, "BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking...
released the report "Assessing the Terrorist Threat" which concluded that "in 2009 at least 43 American citizens or residents aligned with Sunni militant groups or their ideology were
charged or convicted of terrorism crimes in the U.S. or elsewhere, the highest number in any year since 9/11". They included Fort Hood and the 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting
2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting
The 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting took place on June 1, 2009, when Muslim convert Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, aka Carlos Leon Bledsoe, opened fire with a rifle in a drive-by shooting on soldiers in front of a United States military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a...
as the two successful terrorist attacks, even though neither case has been prosecuted as such.
Lawsuit
A lawsuit filed in November 2011 by victims and their family members alleges the government's failure to act against Hasan before the attack was willful negligence prompted by political correctness. Munley, a claimant and one of the police officers who helped bring down Hasan, stated "I brought this claim because I strongly believe this tragedy was totally preventable and that the Army swept under the rug what they knew about Hasan". The 83 claimants seek $750 million in compensation from the Army.See also
- Naser Jason AbdoNaser Jason AbdoNaser Jason Abdo is a Muslim US Army Private First Class who is currently being held without bond for possession of an unregistered firearm and allegedly planning to attack a restaurant frequented by soldiers from Fort Hood.-Early life:Abdo grew up in Garland, Texas and attended Richardson Terrace...
- 1995 William Kreutzer, Jr.William Kreutzer, Jr.William J. Kreutzer, Jr. is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted of killing one officer and wounding 18 other soldiers when he opened fire on a physical training formation on October 27, 1995 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina....
case – convicted of killing an officer and wounding 17 other soldiers at Fort BraggFort Bragg (North Carolina)Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
, North Carolina. - 2003 Hasan Akbar caseHasan Akbar caseThe Hasan Akbar case refers to an event in the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, when Hasan Karim Akbar was convicted of the double-murder of two officers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.The victims were Army...
– convicted of murder of two officers at Camp PennsylvaniaCamp PennsylvaniaCamp Pennsylvania is a small military base in Kuwait in use by the 101st Airborne Division during the Iraq War during major hostilities. This small military base consists of little more than fencing and tents, however it became famous after a grenade attack in March 2003.-Grenade attack:Camp...
, Kuwait. - 2007 Fort Dix attack plot2007 Fort Dix attack plotThe 2007 Fort Dix attack plot involved a group of six radical Islamist men who conspired to stage an attack against U.S. Military personnel stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The alleged aim of the group was to "kill as many soldiers as possible"....
– six radical Islamist men convicted of plotting an attack on Fort Dix, New Jersey. - 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting2009 Little Rock recruiting office shootingThe 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting took place on June 1, 2009, when Muslim convert Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, aka Carlos Leon Bledsoe, opened fire with a rifle in a drive-by shooting on soldiers in front of a United States military recruiting office in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a...
– Islamist shooter of two recruiters had returned from Yemen; stated he shot soldiers on behalf of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. - 2009 Camp Liberty killingsCamp Liberty killingsThe Camp Liberty killings occurred on May 11, 2009, at military counseling clinic at Camp Liberty, Iraq. Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, of the 54th Engineer Battalion based at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany, was taken into custody and charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated...
– Sgt. John M. Russell charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault for attack at Camp LibertyCamp LibertyCamp Liberty is a large coalition military installation located northeast of the Baghdad International Airport and is part of the U.S. military's Victory Base Complex . It was formerly known as Camp Victory North and renamed in mid-September 2004, as part of an effort to give U.S...
, Iraq. - 2009 Lloyd R. WoodsonLloyd R. WoodsonLloyd R. Woodson is an American whose arrest in central New Jersey on January 25, 2010 received national attention in the United States. Woodson was armed with a semi-automatic assault rifle and was wearing a military-grade ballistic vest at the time of his arrest...
case—Arrested with military-grade illegal weapons he intended to use in a violent crime, and a detailed map of the Fort DrumFort DrumFort Drum is a United States Army base in New York near the Canadian border.Fort Drum may also refer to:*Fort Drum, Florida, a nearly-uninhabited town in the United States*Fort Drum , Philippines...
military installation - Department of the Army Civilian PoliceDepartment of the Army Civilian PoliceDepartment of the Army Civilian Police, are the uniformed civilian police officers of the United States Army. They are also referred to as DoD Police. The Department of the Army Civilian Police are responsible for law enforcement and security services on U.S. Army owned and leased buildings,...
- List of massacres in Texas
External links
- Fort Hood official U.S. Army website
- Fort Hood Sentinel Fort Hood newspaper
- Fort Hood Shootings ongoing coverage from CNN
- Fort Hood Army Base (Texas) and Nidal Malik Hasan ongoing coverage from The New York Times
- Shootings at Fort Hood ongoing coverage from The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
- Presentation on Islam by Nidal Malik Hasan (Washington Post website)
- Shooting Spree at Fort Hood – image slideshow by Life magazine