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.
Victims Murdered on November 5, 2009
- Michael Grant Cahill, 62 — A civilian physician assistant from Spokane, Washington. Cahill worked at Fort Hood and reportedly attempted to confront Hasan by using a chair before he was fatally shot inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center.
- Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, 52 — An Army psychologist assigned to the 467th Medical Detachment. Caraveo was preparing for deployment to Afghanistan when he was murdered at Fort Hood. He had been born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and later became a United States citizen.
- Staff Sergeant Justin Michael DeCrow, 32 — A soldier from Plymouth, Indiana, who was assigned to the 16th Signal Company, 3rd Signal Brigade. He was preparing for deployment when he was fatally shot in the processing center.
- Captain John Paul Gaffaney, 56 — An Army Reserve psychiatric nurse from San Diego, California. Gaffaney reportedly attempted to rush or physically stop Hasan during the attack and was fatally shot.
- Specialist Frederick Greene, 29 — A soldier from Mountain City, Tennessee, assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion. Greene was processing for deployment to Afghanistan when he was murdered.
- Specialist Jason Dean Hunt, 22 — A soldier from Norman, Oklahoma, assigned to the 19th Engineer Battalion. Hunt had previously served in Iraq and was preparing for another deployment when Hasan shot him inside the center.
- Staff Sergeant Amy Sue Krueger, 29 — A Wisconsin Army National Guard soldier from Kiel, Wisconsin. Krueger was assigned to the 467th Medical Detachment and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan when she was murdered.
- Private First Class Aaron Thomas Nemelka, 19 — A young soldier from West Jordan, Utah, assigned to the 510th Engineer Company. Nemelka was awaiting deployment processing when he was fatally shot.
- Private First Class Michael Scott Pearson, 22 — A soldier from Bolingbrook, Illinois, assigned to the 510th Engineer Company. Pearson was preparing for deployment when Hasan murdered him in the processing center.
- Captain Russell Brian Seager, 51 — An Army Reserve psychiatric nurse from Racine, Wisconsin. Seager was assigned to the 467th Medical Detachment and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan to assist soldiers with mental-health needs.
- Private First Class Francheska Velez, 21 — A soldier from Chicago, Illinois, assigned to the 15th Combat Support Battalion. Velez had recently returned from Iraq and was pregnant when Hasan murdered her. Her unborn child also died as a result of the shooting.
- Private First Class Kham Xiong, 23 — A soldier from St. Paul, Minnesota, assigned to the 510th Engineer Company. Xiong, a father of three, was preparing for deployment to Afghanistan when he was killed.
- Lieutenant Colonel Juanita L. Warman, 55 — An Army Reserve psychiatric nurse practitioner from Havre de Grace, Maryland. Warman was assigned to the 1908th Medical Detachment and was preparing to deploy to Iraq when Hasan murdered her.
The Wounded and Acts of Courage
Dozens of people survived gunshot wounds and other injuries. Among them were Specialist Logan Burnett, Specialist Alan Carroll, Captain Dorothy Carskadon, Specialist Matthew Cooke, Staff Sergeant Alonzo Lunsford Jr., Staff Sergeant Shawn Manning, Second Lieutenant Brandy Mason, Specialist Dayna Ferguson Roscoe, and civilian police officer Kimberly Munley. Some survivors were struck several times and required extensive surgery, rehabilitation, or lifelong medical care.
Soldiers and civilian workers repeatedly placed themselves in danger to help others. Some attempted to confront Hasan, while others carried or dragged wounded people away from the gunfire. Medical personnel began treating victims before the scene had been fully secured. Tourniquets, clothing, belts, and other available materials were used to control severe bleeding until ambulances arrived.
The wounded were transported to several medical facilities, including Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, and Metroplex Adventist Hospital in Killeen. Hasan was also transported for emergency treatment after being shot. His spinal injuries left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Investigation and Charges
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Texas Rangers, and other agencies participated in the investigation. Authorities searched Hasan's apartment, examined his computers and telephone records, reviewed his firearms purchases, interviewed witnesses, and reconstructed his actions before and during the massacre.
Investigators determined that Hasan had acted alone during the shooting. His communications with Anwar al-Awlaki received particular scrutiny because Awlaki publicly praised the massacre afterward. Reviews of the case also examined whether warning signs involving Hasan's statements, professional conduct, and extremist views had been adequately reported or understood before the attack.
Hasan was charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The murder charges represented the 13 people who were born and living when the attack began. Although Francheska Velez's unborn child also died, Hasan was not separately charged with the child's murder.
Court-Martial
Hasan's military court proceedings were delayed by legal disputes, changes in attorneys, medical issues, and arguments concerning a beard he grew after the shooting. A military mental-health evaluation determined that he was competent to stand trial. His general court-martial eventually began at Fort Hood on August 6, 2013.
Hasan was permitted to represent himself with military defense attorneys available as standby counsel. During his opening statement, he acknowledged that the evidence would establish that he had been the shooter. Military law did not allow him to plead guilty to charges carrying the death penalty, so prosecutors were still required to prove each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors presented eyewitness testimony, physical evidence, medical records, firearms evidence, and accounts from survivors. Witnesses described Hasan firing into the crowded building and targeting people who attempted to escape or help the wounded. Hasan called few witnesses, offered no meaningful alternative explanation for the evidence, and did not attempt to establish that another person had committed the crime.
On August 23, 2013, a panel of 13 military officers convicted Hasan of all 13 counts of premeditated murder and all 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The verdict made him eligible for execution.
Death Sentence
During the sentencing phase, survivors and relatives of those murdered described the physical injuries, emotional suffering, and permanent loss caused by Hasan's actions. Family members spoke about children growing up without parents, spouses losing their partners, and military communities losing experienced soldiers and medical professionals.
On August 28, 2013, the military panel unanimously sentenced Hasan to death. He was also dismissed from the United States Army and ordered to forfeit his military pay and allowances. A dismissal is the officer equivalent of a dishonorable discharge.
Hasan was transferred to the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was confined on military death row. Military death sentences are subject to extensive automatic appellate review and require presidential approval before an execution can occur.
Classification and Official Recognition
The Fort Hood massacre produced years of debate over how the attack should be officially characterized. Early government descriptions frequently referred to it as workplace violence, while survivors, relatives, lawmakers, and later official reviews argued that Hasan's ideological statements and declared motives supported its classification as an act of terrorism.
Congress later changed federal law to allow military personnel and qualifying civilian employees injured or killed in certain domestic attacks inspired or directed by foreign terrorist organizations to receive appropriate awards. In 2015, the Army approved Purple Hearts for eligible military victims and the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom for eligible civilian victims of the 2009 Fort Hood attack.
Memorials and Legacy
The murders caused lasting grief at Fort Hood, in the surrounding Killeen community, and in the victims' hometowns across the country. Memorial services were held at the installation and elsewhere, and the victims were honored by military units, relatives, friends, and public officials.
A permanent memorial dedicated to those murdered was constructed in Killeen, Texas. The memorial contains 13 granite columns representing the 13 victims, with inscriptions and images preserving their identities and service. It was formally dedicated in March 2016.
Fort Hood was renamed Fort Cavazos in 2023, but the November 5, 2009, attack remains widely known as the Fort Hood massacre. It was the deadliest mass shooting at a United States military installation. The case also led to extensive reviews of military security, information sharing, insider threats, extremist warning signs, and procedures for reporting dangerous conduct by service members.
The massacre is remembered not only for Hasan's deliberate violence but also for the courage of the people who attempted to stop him, protected others, treated the wounded, and helped the Fort Hood community recover. The names of Michael Cahill, Libardo Caraveo, Justin DeCrow, John Gaffaney, Frederick Greene, Jason Hunt, Amy Krueger, Aaron Nemelka, Michael Pearson, Russell Seager, Francheska Velez, Kham Xiong, and Juanita Warman remain central to the history of the attack.
