Nidal Hasan

Mass Murderer

Nidal Hasan and the 2009 Fort Hood Massacre

Background

Nidal Malik Hasan was a United States Army major and psychiatrist who carried out a mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009. Hasan, who was 39 years old at the time, had been assigned to the Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood after completing medical training and psychiatric work in the Washington, D.C., area. He had spent years treating military personnel, including soldiers who had returned from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hasan was born on September 8, 1970, in Arlington County, Virginia. He joined the Army after high school and eventually received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He completed a residency in psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and later received additional training in disaster and preventive psychiatry. During his military medical career, supervisors and colleagues documented concerns about Hasan's performance, conduct, and increasingly hostile statements concerning the United States military and its operations in Muslim-majority countries. He had also communicated by email with Anwar al-Awlaki, an extremist cleric living in Yemen. Investigators later concluded that Hasan planned and executed the Fort Hood attack without direct operational assistance from another person.

Events Leading to the Shooting

In 2009, Hasan learned that he was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan. He strongly opposed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and had expressed distress about the possibility of serving in a conflict in which American forces were fighting Muslims. In the period before the shooting, he purchased an FN Five-seveN semiautomatic pistol and practiced firing it at a shooting range near Fort Hood. He also possessed a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, although that weapon was not used during the massacre. Shortly before the attack, Hasan gave away personal belongings, distributed copies of the Quran, cleaned his apartment, and told neighbors that he expected to leave soon. On the morning of November 5, 2009, he attended prayers at a mosque before traveling to Fort Hood. He was dressed in his Army combat uniform and carried the pistol, numerous loaded magazines, and a large quantity of ammunition.

The Fort Hood Shooting

At approximately 1:34 p.m. on November 5, 2009, Hasan entered the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. The facility was crowded with military personnel completing medical evaluations, vaccinations, paperwork, and other preparations associated with deployment or return from overseas service. Witnesses reported that Hasan sat at an empty table before standing, shouting an Arabic religious phrase, and opening fire. He initially shot people inside the processing center and then continued firing as soldiers and civilian employees attempted to escape, hide, or assist the wounded. Hasan moved deliberately through the building, firing repeatedly at people in offices, waiting areas, hallways, and near exits. Some of the victims were shot while seated or standing in line. Others were struck while trying to flee through doors and windows. Several people attempted to confront or distract Hasan so that others could escape. Witnesses described soldiers using furniture as makeshift cover, dragging wounded companions to safety, applying pressure to gunshot wounds, and breaking windows to create escape routes. Hasan eventually moved outside and continued firing. Department of the Army civilian police officer Sergeant Kimberly Munley confronted him and exchanged gunfire with him. Munley was wounded in the hand and legs. Senior Sergeant Mark Todd then encountered Hasan and shot him several times. Todd kicked Hasan's pistol away and placed him in handcuffs, ending the attack after approximately ten minutes. Investigators recovered more than 200 cartridge casings from inside and outside the building. Hasan had fired scores of rounds and was carrying additional loaded magazines and approximately 177 rounds of unused ammunition when he was stopped. Thirteen people were murdered, including 12 soldiers and one civilian employee. Thirty-two other people were the subjects of attempted-murder charges, although other official accounts have used different totals when including non-gunshot injuries and psychological trauma. ...

Confirmed Victims: (13)

Michael Grant Cahill 62 yr old Male

Nidal Hasan