Posted on 11/06/2009 7:04:42 AM PST by traumer
Army psychiatrist remains on ventilator after rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 28
A US army psychiatrist about to be deployed to Afghanistan allegedly shouted "Allahu Akbar", or "God is greatest", as he opened fire at a military base in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 28.
The gunman, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, shouted the Arabic phrase just before he began his shooting spree at Fort Hood military installation yesterday, according to the base commander, Lieutenant General Robert Cone.
Hasan's family said he had been dreading deployment.
Twelve of those killed were soldiers; one was a civilian. All of the wounded were in a stable condition, officials said at a press conference today. Among them are Hasan himself and Kimberly Munley, the civilian police officer who shot Hasan and was hit in the gunfire.
Contrary to initial reports, Hasan is alive but has not yet been interviewed by investigators as he is on a ventilator. "He is in a stable condition," an army medical spokesman said.
Commander Colonel Steven Braverman, who was a colleague of Hasan at the Darnall army medical centre on Fort Hood, said Hasan performed well in his job and had showed no obvious signs of trouble. "We are not aware of any problems that he had while he was here at Darnall," said Braverman, adding: "We had no problems with his job performance while he was working with us."
Braverman confirmed Hasan had received orders to deploy to Afghanistan.
One of Hasan's cousins, Nader Hasan, told reporters he had been dreading going to war, having counselled scores of returning soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder.
"He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy," the cousin said. "He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there."
Family and fellow officers said Hasan had complained of harassment by other troops about his Middle Eastern ethnicity and Muslim faith.
The FBI was last night going through Hasan's phone and computer records to see if a motive could be identified. Agents were checking back on website postings by a man who identified himself as Nidal Hasan that appeared sympathetic to suicide bombings.
At about 1.30pm yesterday, Virginia-born Hasan is said to have opened fire with two handguns at the base's soldier readiness centre where troops were having equipment checks, dental treatment and undergoing other preparations before being flown to Iraq or as they returned from combat. Neither of the guns are believed to have been military-issue.
Ford Hood's deputy base commander, Colonel John G Rossi, said about 500 soldiers were in the area when Hasan entered the centre wearing military uniform. He shot some victims at close range and others were injured as the bullets ricocheted, Rossi said.
Troops are not allowed to carry firearms on the base and armed military police quickly swarmed to scene. One of them, a female officer, brought him down.
Soldiers tore up their uniforms to bandage the injured. Troops at a graduation ceremony nearby, attended by 600, have been praised for quickly blocking the doors when the firing began.
The base went into lockdown for several hours amid fears other gunmen were involved.
Greg Schanepp, who was representing a local congressman at the graduation, told how a soldier who had been shot in the back came running towards him and alerted him to the shooting, telling him not to go in the direction of the killer.
The base commander, Cone, said only military police on the base carried guns.
Cone did not speculate on a motive, but the army released a statement saying the shootings did not appear to be an act of political terrorism. Two other people were questioned and then released.
Federal law enforcement officials told Associated Press that Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of his web postings, which discussed suicide bombings and other threats.
One of the web posts that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. "To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. It's more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause," said the post. "Scholars have paralled [sic] this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers."
The officials said Hasan appeared to have made the postings but it was still being checked.
The wounded were taken to hospitals in the central Texas region. Lisa Pfund said her daughter Amber Bahr, 19, was shot in the stomach and was in a stable condition. "We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly," she told Associated Press.
Barack Obama, interrupting a speech in Washington, said the incident was a "horrific outburst of violence".
The gunman showed no signs of worry or stress when he stopped at a convenience store for his daily breakfast of hash browns, said Jeannie Strickland, manager of a local 7-Eleven.
"He came in [Thursday] morning just like normal," she told the Houston Chronicle, "nothing weird, nothing out of the ordinary."
Video footage was shown on CNN last night apparently of Hasan in a shop in the morning – about six to seven hours before the shooting – looking relaxed as he bought some goods.
It was Jihad within the ranks, like the case of Sgt. Asan Akbar in 2003.
This Hasan has been a live one for a long time, even suggestiong that more Muslims should attack and kill us after the Arkansas recruiter was killed.
Hopefully he will get the same sentence that Akbar got...and hopefully, unlike Akbar, it will be carried out swiftly.
Maybe they can have a double execution, executed by firing squad with pig-blood soaked bullets, having them fall into a trench of pig entrails before being buried there. It’s what he deserves in his own mind...and it’s time we started playing with their minds, IMHO, just like that. It may save American life if they realize in their own minds that their Jihad will be foiled and they will not got to Heaven for their 72.
How can anyone deny this was terrorism?
Sudden Jihad Syndrome. Every muslim is a risk of it.
The msm is trying to blame the U.S fighting in Afganistan.
The FACT is he didn’t want to kill fellow MUSLIMS.
But, but, but they don’t have a motive yet.
Muslim traitor recipe: lightly grease rope with pig fat and hang him.
Off topic question. Do the wounded (and dead) soldiers from this incident get the purple heart? Is this considered line of duty?
Cone did not speculate on a motive, but the army released a statement saying the shootings did not appear to be an act of political terrorism. Two other people were questioned and then released.
Federal law enforcement officials told Associated Press that Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of his web postings, which discussed suicide bombings and other threats. One of the web posts that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades. "To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. It's more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause," said the post. "Scholars have paralled [sic] this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers."
Phenominal that these statements could be made together. It was not an act of political terrorism, but he came to their attention because of his political terror statements.
It was Jihad within the ranks plain and simple and we'd best figure out the nature of the enemy and cull them from our ranks. This guy had been giving off the signs for a LOG time and yet was still in uniform working with soldiers going to and returning from the war.
Of course he was harassed. Making the kind of statements he did against the war and for the enemy in the presence of other soldiers who were either going to war or returning fromit ensured that he would be...and I do not blame those soldiers one bit.
The blame falls on Hasan himself and those who left him, after the reports came in, in that position. He was a treacherous enemy within the ranks and he ultimately went Jihad.
Well stated...I hope more people wake up to that fact before it's too late.
Come to think of it, a lot of people need a lot of waking up to do, real soon!
How on earth can the Army deny this was terrorism? It is an OBVIOUS case of Islamic terror. PC kills.
Doing that would require a whole can of worms to be opened,
and they are AFRAID to do so.
Incredibly, the media still has no clue of a motive for the killings.
This is absolute insanity. Whether or not he has some sort of “fear” of going to Afghanistan, what he shouted indicates a clear motive to please Allah by killing Americans.
END OF STORY.
Our RELIGION of PC horse doo is biting us in the a#@!!!
You knew this was coming, but I don't understand how military types can trust the lives of our men and women who serve to losers like this. THAT is a criminally negligent state of things.
If you won't admit the realities of living in the 21st century... at least have the intelligence to make enough of a compromise with reality to the extent of protecting yourself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My thoughts exactly.
I wonder who he was in contact with. We'll learn as much about this as we now know of 0's academic record. The press will assist any way they can.
This is the first act of domestic terror since 0 got elected. It hasn't been a year that he's been in office. More to come.
The Army can deny it because it’s the very mindset that allowed this lunatic to wear a uniform long after he showed signs of disenchantment with our involvement in Iraq/Afghanistan.
Do we have any sense, yet, or reports of celebratory reactions anywhere else in the world?
This man may be executed, but nothing beyond that will happen. In fact classes to understand the stress that these Amish suffer will be held.
Only 13 killed. It will take hundreds, thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands before the political will exists to make the fundamental changes needed.
Yup, kind of like another issue I can think of...
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