US military looking for answers in kill spree
Source: Agencies |
November 7, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
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US soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" -- an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" -- before opening fire, the commander of the Texas base said yesterday.
Lieutenant General Robert Cone said officials had not yet confirmed that the suspected shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, made the comment before the rampage on Thursday. Hasan was among 30 people wounded in the shooting spree and remained hospitalized on a ventilator.
All but two of the injured were still hospitalized, and all were in stable condition.
Military officials were trying to piece together what may have pushed Hasan, an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress, to turn on his comrades.
Cone said the 39-year-old Hasan was not known to be a threat or risk.
An imam from a mosque Hasan regularly attended said Hasan, a lifelong Muslim, was a committed soldier, gave no sign of extremist beliefs and regularly wore his uniform at prayers.
The motive for the shooting wasn't clear, but Hasan was apparently set to deploy soon and had expressed some anger about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Retired Colonel Terry Lee, who said he had worked with Hasan, told Fox News Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, and he got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.
Colonel Steve Braverman, the Fort Hood hospital commander, said at a news conference yesterday that Hasan was on deployment orders to Afghanistan. A military official later told The Associated Press that Hasan was to be deployed to Iraq. It was not immediately possible to clear up the discrepancy.
The military official, who did not have authorization to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said Hasan had indicated he didn't want to go to Iraq but was willing to serve in Afghanistan.
Cone said authorities have not yet been able to talk to Hasan's family, but interviews with witnesses went through the night.
Terrorism task force agents planned to interview several of Hasan's relatives.
Officials are not ruling out the possibility that some of the casualties may have been victims of "friendly fire," that in the mayhem and confusion at the shooting scene some of the responding military officials may have shot some of the victims.
The officer who shot the gunman, Kimberly Munley, also was wounded.
"She happened to encounter the gunman. In an exchange of gunfire, she was wounded but managed to wound him four times," Cone said. "It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer."
Cone said some 300 soldiers had been lined up to get shots and have their eyes tested at a Soldier Readiness Center when the shots rang out.
Lieutenant General Robert Cone said officials had not yet confirmed that the suspected shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, made the comment before the rampage on Thursday. Hasan was among 30 people wounded in the shooting spree and remained hospitalized on a ventilator.
All but two of the injured were still hospitalized, and all were in stable condition.
Military officials were trying to piece together what may have pushed Hasan, an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress, to turn on his comrades.
Cone said the 39-year-old Hasan was not known to be a threat or risk.
An imam from a mosque Hasan regularly attended said Hasan, a lifelong Muslim, was a committed soldier, gave no sign of extremist beliefs and regularly wore his uniform at prayers.
The motive for the shooting wasn't clear, but Hasan was apparently set to deploy soon and had expressed some anger about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Retired Colonel Terry Lee, who said he had worked with Hasan, told Fox News Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, and he got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.
Colonel Steve Braverman, the Fort Hood hospital commander, said at a news conference yesterday that Hasan was on deployment orders to Afghanistan. A military official later told The Associated Press that Hasan was to be deployed to Iraq. It was not immediately possible to clear up the discrepancy.
The military official, who did not have authorization to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said Hasan had indicated he didn't want to go to Iraq but was willing to serve in Afghanistan.
Cone said authorities have not yet been able to talk to Hasan's family, but interviews with witnesses went through the night.
Terrorism task force agents planned to interview several of Hasan's relatives.
Officials are not ruling out the possibility that some of the casualties may have been victims of "friendly fire," that in the mayhem and confusion at the shooting scene some of the responding military officials may have shot some of the victims.
The officer who shot the gunman, Kimberly Munley, also was wounded.
"She happened to encounter the gunman. In an exchange of gunfire, she was wounded but managed to wound him four times," Cone said. "It was an amazing and aggressive performance by this police officer."
Cone said some 300 soldiers had been lined up to get shots and have their eyes tested at a Soldier Readiness Center when the shots rang out.
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