An Army psychiatrist allegedly opened fire on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, <a href="../../../../topics/Texas">Texas</a>, on Nov. 5, 2009, killing at least 12 people and wounding 31 in what is believed to be the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military base in history.

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Nation/World

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A military court hearing has begun for the Army psychiatrist accused of gunning down 13 people at Fort Hood, and his defense attorney is likely to seek a delay. 
Maj. Nidal Hasan made his first courtroom appearance Tuesday, but wasn’t expected to speak at the hearing. Military prosecutors and defense attorneys instead were to discuss case preparations. 
Defense attorney John Galligan says he’ll seek to delay Hasan’s Article 32 hearing. That’s similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding in which a judge hears witness testimony to determine whether the case should go to trial. 
Authorities have said it could be held as early as July 1. 
Galligan says the hearing shouldn’t go on before Oct. 1 because he still needs key case documents.

ny-nahood0602

1st court appearance for Fort Hood shooting suspect

One by one, President Barack Obama spoke the names and told the stories Tuesday of the 13 people slain in the Fort Hood shooting rampage, honoring their memories even as he denounced the “twisted logic” that led to their deaths. 
“No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor,” Obama told the crowd on a steamy <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> afternoon. “And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice — in this world and the next.” 
He did not name Maj. Nidal Hasan, the military psychiatrist accused of the killings. 
As for the victims and the soldiers who rushed to help them, Obama said, “We need not look to the past for greatness, because it is before our very eyes.” He spoke at a memorial service before a crowd estimated at 15,000 on this enormous Army post. 
The president and first lady <a href="/topics/Michelle_Obama">Michelle Obama</a> began an afternoon of consolation by meeting privately with family members of those killed last week and with those wounded in the attack and their families. Obama used his public remarks to put a human face on those who perished, victims ranging in age from 19 to 62. He also used his platform to speak indirectly to questions about whether the alleged shooter had ties to extremist Islamic ideology. 
Thousands upon thousands of people, many of them soldiers dressed in camouflage, gathered to pay their respects and hear the president. The shooting killed 12 soldiers and 1 civilian, injured 29 others and left a nation stunned and searching for answers. 
Below the stage where Obama spoke was a somber tribute to the fallen — 13 pairs of combat boots, each with an inverted rifle topped with a helmet. A picture of each person rested below the boots. After the ceremony, Obama walked solemnly along the row of boots, placing a commander in chief’s coin next to each victim’s photo in tribute. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/13-die-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Click here to see the photos of the Ft. Hood memorial service</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/troubling-portrait-of-alleged-ft-hood-shooter-1.1569927">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see a troubling look into the life of the alleged shooter</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/complete-coverage-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1574662">COMPLETE COVERAGE: 13 die in Fort Hood shooting spree</a>

ny-usobam1111

Obama: Slain Fort Hood soldiers best of America

US-SHOOTING-CRIME-MEMORIAL

WASHINGTON -- Nearly a year before Maj. Nidal Hasan allegedly went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, terrorism investigators conducted an “assessment” of him before deciding he did not pose a threat. 
After the shooting, the FBI is doing a new assessment — of its own conduct. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/troubling-portrait-of-alleged-ft-hood-shooter-1.1569927">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see a troubling look into the life of the alleged shooter</a> 
The Army psychiatrist is believed to have acted alone despite repeated communications — intercepted by authorities — with a radical imam overseas, U.S. officials said Monday. The FBI will conduct an internal review to see whether it mishandled early information about the man accused in the bloody rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 29. 
President <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">Barack Obama</a> was joining grieving families and comrades of the victims Tuesday at a memorial service at the sprawling <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> Army base. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/13-die-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Memorials for the Ft. Hood shooting victims</a> 
Hasan, awake and talking to doctors, met his lawyer Monday in the <a href="/topics/San_Antonio">San Antonio</a> hospital where he is recovering, under guard, from gunshot wounds in the assault. 
In Washington, an investigative official and a <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> lawmaker said Hasan had communicated 10 to 20 times with <a href="/topics/Anwar_al-Awlaki">Anwar al-Awlaki</a>, an imam released from a Yemeni jail last year who has used his personal Web site to encourage Muslims across the world to kill U.S. troops in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>. Despite that, no formal investigation was opened into Hasan, they said. 
Investigative officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> Rep. <a href="/topics/Pete_Hoekstra">Pete Hoekstra</a> of <a href="/topics/Michigan">Michigan</a>, the top <a href="/topics/U.S._Republican_Party">Republican</a> on the <a href="/topics/House_Intelligence_Committee">House Intelligence Committee</a>, said it was his understanding Hasan and the imam exchanged e-mails that counterterrorism officials picked up. 
Officials said Hasan will be tried in a military court, not a civilian one, a choice that suggests his alleged actions are not thought to have emanated from a terrorist organization. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/how-911-dispatchers-handled-fort-hood-shooting-1.1576555">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see how the local 911 center handled the shooting rampage at Fort Hood</a> 
Meanwhile, The <a href="/topics/Washington_Post_Company">Washington Post</a> reported Tuesday that Hasan warned his medical colleagues a year and a half ago that to “decrease adverse events” the U.S. military should allow Muslim soldiers to be released as conscientious objectors instead of fighting in wars against other Muslims. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, made the recommendation in a culminating presentation to senior Army doctors at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he spent six years as an intern, resident and fellow before being transferred to Fort Hood. 
“It’s getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims,” Hasan said in the presentation, a copy of which was obtained by the Post. 
FBI Director <a href="/topics/Robert_Mueller">Robert Mueller</a> ordered the inquiry into the bureau’s handling of the case, including its response to potentially worrisome information gathered about Hasan beginning in December 2008 and continuing into early this year. 
Based on all the investigations since the attack, the investigators said they have no evidence that Hasan had help or outside orders in the shootings. 
Even so, they revealed the major had once been under scrutiny from a joint terrorism task force because of the series of communications going back months. Al-Awlaki is a former imam at a Falls Church, Va., mosque where Hasan and his family occasionally worshipped. 
In 2001, al-Awlaki, a native-born U.S. citizen, had contact with two of the Sept. 11 hijackers, and on Monday his Web site praised Hasan as a hero. 
Military officials were made aware of communications between Hasan and al-Awlaki, but because the messages did not advocate or threaten violence, civilian law enforcement authorities could not take the matter further, the officials said. The terrorism task force concluded Hasan was not involved in terrorist planning. 
Officials said the content of those messages was “consistent with the subject matter of his research,” part of which involved post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from U.S. combat operations in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> and <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>. 
A law enforcement official said the communications consisted primarily of Hasan posing questions to the imam as a spiritual leader or adviser, and the imam did respond to at least some of those messages. 
No formal investigation was ever opened based on the contacts, the officials said. 
They said the decision to bring military charges instead of civilian criminal charges against Hasan did not mean it wasn’t a terrorism case. But it is likely authorities would have had more reason to take the case to federal court if they had found evidence Hasan acted with the support or training of a terrorist group. 
Investigators tried to interview Hasan on Sunday at the military hospital where he is being held, but he refused to answer and requested a lawyer, the officials said. 
Hasan’s new civilian and military attorneys met him for about half an hour at Brooke Army Medical Center in <a href="/topics/San_Antonio">San Antonio</a>, said retired Col. John P. Galligan, who was hired by Hasan’s family. Galligan said Hasan asked for an attorney even though he is on sedatives and his condition is guarded. 
“Given his medical condition, that’s the smart move,” Galligan told The Associated Press on Monday night. “Nobody from law enforcement will be questioning him.” 
Galligan said both he and Maj. Christopher E. Martin, Fort Hood’s senior defense attorney, met Hasan. Galligan questioned whether Hasan can get a fair trial at Fort Hood, given Obama’s visit to the base and public comments by the post commander, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone. Galligan also said he plans to raise the issue of Hasan’s mental condition. 
The most serious charge in military court is premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty. 
The Army has not yet appointed a lead prosecutor in the case, said Fort Hood spokesman Tyler Broadway. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/13-die-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Memorials for the Ft. Hood shooting victims</a>

ny-ushood1111

FBI probes own actions in Fort Hood suspect watch

APTOPIX Fort Hood Shooting

U.S officials intercepted a number of communications last year between an Army major who allegedly killed 13 people Thursday at his <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> military base and the radical, <a href="/topics/Al-Qaeda">Al-Qaida</a>-linked former imam of his Washington-area mosque, Rep. <a href="/topics/Peter_King">Peter King</a> (R-Seaford) said Monday. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/13-die-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a> 
"Somebody dropped the ball," King said in reference to the communications between Army Maj. <a href="/topics/Nidal_Malik_Hasan">Nidal Malik Hasan</a>, a psychiatrist, and Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki, who was known to have given fiery anti-U.S. sermons after he left the <a href="/topics/United_States">United States</a>, first in <a href="/topics/Britain">Britain</a> and then in <a href="/topics/Yemen">Yemen</a>. 
King, who is ranking minority member on the Homeland Security Committee and a member of the intelligence committee, said he would like to know why an officer in the U.S. Army was allowed to continue in the service and bring a weapon onto a military base when he was known to have contact with a terrorist. 
Al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who lives in <a href="/topics/Yemen">Yemen</a>, has long been monitored by U.S. and Yemeni authorities for potential radical activities and links to al-Qaida. 
The <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a>, in a statement released last night, said the 2008 intercepts by a federal Joint Terrorism Task Force were viewed as communications involving Hasan's research as a psychiatrist then at <a href="/topics/Walter_Reed_Hospital">Walter Reed Army Medical Center</a> in Washington, and did not indicate any potential threat to individuals or terrorist plots. 
"At this point, there is no information to indicate Major Malik Nidal Hasan had any co-conspirators or was part of any of a broader terrorist plot," the statement said. 
Sources familiar with the continuing investigation said that <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> and Army agents as of Monday had conducted dozens of interviews connected to the case and gone through the personal computer of the alleged killer, but said the conclusion by investigators was very tentative. 
The sources added that because of the investigation's preliminary nature, nothing had been ruled out as to Hasan's motivation. 
Possible motivations included: there was a relationship with the imam, two 9/11 hijackers also attended the mosque at the same time as Hasan or other terrorists; that Hasan had been influenced by terrorist writings by his former imam or others; or that he was motivated by general pro-terrorist sentiments, possibly coupled with a psychotic breakdown, but that he had acted on his own. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/13-die-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a> 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/complete-coverage-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1574662">COMPLETE COVERAGE: 13 die in Fort Hood shooting spree</a>

Long Island

Nassau

NYMOSQ10

King: Fort Hood suspect had contact with al-Qaida-linked imam

Fort Hood entrance

FORT HOOD, <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> -- The man accused of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others at Fort Hood is able to talk, a hospital spokesman said Monday, but it’s unknown when investigators might take advantage of his improving health to press forward with their probe into the shooting spree. 
Authorities say Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan fired off more than 100 rounds Thursday before civilian police shot him in the torso. He was taken into custody and eventually moved to an Army hospital in <a href="/topics/San_Antonio">San Antonio</a>, where he was in stable condition and able to talk, said Dewey Mitchell, a Brooke Army Medical Center spokesman. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/troubling-portrait-of-alleged-ft-hood-shooter-1.1569927">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to look into the life of the alleged shooter</a> 
Authorities continue to refer to Hasan, 39, as the only suspect in the shootings, but they won’t say when charges would be filed and have said they have not determined a motive. A spokesman for Army investigators did not immediately respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment Monday. 
Sixteen victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and seven were in intensive care. 
The personal Web site for a radical American imam living in <a href="/topics/Yemen">Yemen</a> who had contact with two 9/11 hijackers praised Hasan as a hero. 
The posting Monday on the Web site for Anwar al Awlaki, who was a spiritual leader at two mosques where three 9/11 hijackers worshipped, said American Muslims who condemned the Fort Hood attack are hypocrites who have committed treason against their religion. 
Awlaki said the only way a Muslim can justify serving in the U.S. military is if he intends to “follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal.” 
Two U.S. intelligence officials told The <a href="/topics/Associated_Press">Associated Press</a> the Web site was Awlaki’s. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence collection. Awlaki did not immediately respond to an attempt to contact him through the Web site. 
Hasan’s family attended the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., where Awlaki was preaching in 2001. Hasan’s mother’s funeral was held at the mosque on May 31, 2001, according to her obituary in the Roanoke Times newspaper, around the same time two 9/11 hijackers worshipped at the mosque and while Awlaki was preaching. 
Awlaki is a native-born U.S. citizen who left the <a href="/topics/United_States">United States</a> in 2002, eventually traveling to <a href="/topics/Yemen">Yemen</a>. He was released from a <a href="/topics/Yemen">Yemen</a>i jail last year and has since gone missing. He is on <a href="/topics/Yemen">Yemen</a>’s most wanted militant list, according to three Yemeni security officials. 
The officials say Awlaki was arrested in 2006 with a small group of suspected <a href="/topics/Al-Qaeda">al-Qaida</a> militants in the capital San’a. They say he was released more than a year later after signing a pledge he will not break the law or leave the country. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. 
The Falls Church mosque is one of the largest on the East Coast, and thousands of worshippers attend prayers and services there every week. 
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at Dar al Hijrah, said he did not know whether Hasan ever attended the mosque but confirmed that the Hasan family participated in services there. Abdul-Malik said the Hasans were not leaders at the mosque and their attendance was normal. 
Sen. <a href="/topics/Joe_Lieberman">Joe Lieberman</a> said Sunday he wants <a href="/topics/U.S._Congress">Congress</a> to determine whether the shootings constitute a terrorist attack and whether warning signs that Hasan was embracing an increasingly extremist view of Islamic ideology were missed. 
Classmates who participated in a 2007-2008 master’s program at a military college told The <a href="/topics/Associated_Press">Associated Press</a> that they complained to faculty during the program about what they considered to be Hasan’s anti-American views, which included his giving a presentation that justified suicide bombing and telling classmates that Islamic law trumped the U.S. Constitution. 
“If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have zero tolerance,” Lieberman, an independent from <a href="/topics/Connecticut">Connecticut</a>, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “He should have been gone.” 
Army Chief of Staff <a href="/topics/George_Casey">George Casey</a> warned Sunday against reaching conclusions about the suspected shooter’s motives until investigators have fully explored the attack. “I think the speculation (on Hasan’s Islamic roots) could potentially heighten backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” 
President <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">Barack Obama</a> is scheduled to attend a memorial service Tuesday honoring victims of the attack, and he’ll arrive to a post on the mend. 
Fort Hood spokesman Col. John Rossi said the country’s largest military installation was moving forward with the business of soldiering. The processing center where Hasan allegedly opened fire remains a crime scene, but the activities that went on there were relocated, with the goal of soon reopening the center. 
“There’s a lot of routine activity still happening. You’ll hear cannon fire and artillery fire,” Rossi said. “Soldiers in units are still trying to execute the missions we have been tasked with.” 
Sgt. 1st Class Frank Minnie was in the processing center last week getting some health tests and immunizations in preparation for his deployment. Minnie said that even after the shootings, Fort Hood soldiers have the attitude that “the mission still goes on.” 
“Everybody’s going to grieve a little bit. It hurts a lot because it’s one of your battle buddies, and someone lost a mom, dad, brother or sister,” said Minnie, 37, who served in Iraq in 2006. “But it doesn’t change my perspective of going to war. I’ve got a job to do.” 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/troubling-portrait-of-alleged-ft-hood-shooter-1.1569927">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to look into the life of the alleged shooter</a>

ny-ushood1109

Hospital: Fort Hood suspect awake, talking

The family of the alleged Fort Hood shooter held his mother’s funeral at the same <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a> mosque that two Sept. 11 hijackers attended in 2001, at a time when a radical imam preached there. 
Whether the Fort Hood shooter associated with the hijackers is something the <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> will probably look into, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a> 
 The family of Maj. <a href="/topics/Nidal_Malik_Hasan">Nidal Malik Hasan</a>, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 and wounded 29 at the <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> military base, held his mother’s funeral at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., on May 31, 2001, according to her obituary in the Roanoke Times newspaper. 
 In 2001, Anwar Aulaqi was an imam, or spiritual leader, at the Washington-area mosque. Aulaqi told the <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> in 2001 that, before he moved to <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a> in early 2001, he met with 9/11 hijacker <a href="/topics/Nawaf_al-Hazmi">Nawaf al-Hazmi</a> several times in <a href="/topics/San_Diego">San Diego</a>. Al-Hazmi was at the time living with Khalid al-Mihdhar, another hijacker. Al-Hazmi and another hijacker, Hani Hanjour, attended the Dar al Hijrah mosque in <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a> in early April 2001. 
 In his <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> interview, Aulaqi denied ever meeting with al-Hazmi and Hanjour while in <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a>. Aulaqi, a native-born U.S. citizen, left the <a href="/topics/United_States">United States</a> in 2002, eventually traveling to <a href="/topics/Yemen">Yemen</a>. He was investigated by the <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> in 1999 and 2000 after it was learned that he may have been contacted by a possible procurement agent for <a href="/topics/Osama_bin_Laden">Osama bin Laden</a>. 
 During this investigation, the <a href="/topics/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation">FBI</a> learned that Aulaqi knew people involved in raising money for <a href="/topics/Hamas">Hamas</a>, a Palestinian group on the U.S. <a href="/topics/US_State_Department">State Department</a>’s terrorist list. 
Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at Dar al Hijrah, said he did not know whether Hasan ever attended the mosque but confirmed that the Hasan family participated in services there. 
 Abdul-Malik said the Hasans were not leaders at the mosque and their attendance was utterly normal. 
 The Falls Church mosque is one of the largest on the East Coast, and thousands of worshippers attend prayers and services there every week. Abdul-Malik said it’s a mistake for people to conflate regular attendance at a mosque with extremism. 
 Many Muslims pray at the mosque multiple times a day, he said. “It’s part of family life. It’s like going out for ice cream after dinner.” Faizul Khan, former imam of the Muslim Community Center in nearby Silver Spring, Md., where Hasan also worshipped, said he was not aware that Hasan had attended services at Dar al Hijrah but said it would not be unusual for Hasan to attend more than one mosque concurrently. 
 Khan said he did not recall Hasan mentioning having been taught or preached to by Aulaqi. The <a href="/topics/London">London</a> Telegraph first reported the potential link between Hasan and the mosque. 
 Army Chief of Staff Gen. <a href="/topics/George_Casey">George Casey</a> said Sunday it’s important for the country not to get caught up in speculation about Hasan’s Muslim faith, and he has instructed his commanders to be on the lookout for anti-Muslim reaction to the killings at the <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> post. 
 He says focusing on the Islamic roots of the suspected shooter could “heighten the backlash” against all Muslims in the military. 
 Casey says diversity in the military “gives us strength.” Casey declined to answer questions about the investigation into the shooting, but said evidence to this point shows that Hasan acted alone. He toured Fort Hood on Friday with Army Secretary John McHugh. Casey appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and CNN’s “State of the Union.” 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a>

ny-forthood-1109

Alleged Fort Hood shooter tied to mosque of 9/11 hijackers

Fort Hood cavalry

Lt. Col. Larry Masullo, a native of Farmingdale, was about to go into a meeting Thursday at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood. 
Then he heard a gunman had opened fire on the sprawling U.S. Army base in Killeen, <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>. 
"We got word that we were going to be getting multiple victims," said Masullo, 46, an emergency medicine physician, and acting emergency room chief. "I literally ran back to the emergency room." 
Maj. <a href="/topics/Nidal_Malik_Hasan">Nidal Malik Hasan</a>, a U.S. Army psychiatrist upset about his imminent deployment, killed 13 people and wounded 29 others, authorities said. 
Masullo, a 1981 graduate of Farmingdale High School, said his emergency room treated 23 wounded, assessing the injuries seconds after they arrived by ambulance, and sending the most critical patients for immediate surgery. 
"I never left the emergency room" after patients started arriving, Masullo said by telephone from <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> yesterday. 
An <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> veteran, Masullo said the death toll might have been higher had it not been that "90 percent" of the doctors and nurses at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center had been tested in combat. 
"I've had this experience," Masullo said, recalling once having to treat an onslaught of 30 wounded soldiers at a combat support hospital in northern <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>. "I relied on my training." 
With the spotlight on the base after the shooting, Masullo himself hasn't escaped it. Television interviews have beamed his image around the world. 
The married father of two has had interviews with 20 news organizations about the tragedy. 
"It's unfortunate that you get your 15 minutes of fame for such a horrible event," Masullo said. 
There were also calls from those concerned about his safety. "I'm getting phone calls, e-mails, text - people I haven't talked to in years," he said. "They're all saying. 'How you doing? Hope you're OK.' " 
It was 1986 when Masullo, a graduate of SUNY Oneonta, left Long Island for <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>. The <a href="/topics/New_York_Mets">Mets</a> fan recalled that fall because his baseball team was in the <a href="/topics/World_Series">World Series</a>. He watched as the <a href="/topics/New_York_Mets">Mets</a> completed their victory over the Red Sox while in the Lone Star state. 
"When you're in <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>, any New York team . . . you root for," Masullo said. 
Masullo said he and his base staff are trying to return life at Fort Hood to normal, re-establishing a routine, including night shifts in the emergency room. But that the perpetrator is part of his Fort Hood community - and a doctor - remains troubling. 
"The hardest part is that the shooter was a fellow physician," Masullo said. "It's kind of hard to deal with."

Suffolk

LIHOOD08

Farmingdale soldier recounts Fort Hood tragedy

SWAT police

The giant <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> military facility where authorities say an Army major shot dozens of people was home to about 600 soldiers of New York's famed 69th Infantry Regiment - many of them from Long Island - as they prepared for their 2004 deployment to <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>. 
"I'm stunned," Sgt. Tim Wiwczar, a member of the regiment's Bay Shore-based B-Company, said of the deaths of 12 and the wounding of 31 at Fort Hood. "I never had any worry of anything like that happening while we were there." 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a> 
Members of the 69th, a regiment in the New York Army <a href="/topics/National_Guard">National Guard</a>, spent about four months at Fort Hood between May and August of 2004. The unit then spent a year in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>, in which 19 were killed. 
Fort Hood was chosen for the 69th's predeployment training because it is home to the U.S. Army's 1st Calvary Division, members of which served in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> with soldiers from the 69th. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/u-s-army-fort-hood-shooting-suspect-is-alive-1.1569864">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see Lt. General Cone brief media on suspect's whereabouts</a> 
Located about 60 miles northeast of Austin, Fort Hood is about 340 square miles, or more than 10 percent larger than the land mass of New York City. It is home to 42,000 soldiers, plus hundreds of tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and aircraft. 
Wiwczar said the facility's giant land mass, hot climate and remote firing ranges helped prepare his unit for what awaited them in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>. 
"It was a good place to get trained up," Wiwczar said. "We were being taught by guys who had just gotten back from <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> and they were bringing us up to speed on the tactics and the techniques being used by the enemy - roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades." 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/obama-laments-horrific-outburst-of-violence-1.1569671">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see the President's reaction to the recent chain of events</a> 
Jonathan Rothwell, 30, of Babylon, said because of the constant threat of death or dismemberment on the battlefield, he is not surprised that a shooting like the one at Fort Hood might occur among the nearly 2 million military personnel who have served in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> or <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> since 2001. 
"Think of all the soldiers who have been over there in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> or <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> - all of them trained in weapons," he said. "The pressure gets to people, so it really doesn't surprise me." 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a>

LIGUAR06

At Fort Hood, LI soldiers felt secure

Fort Hood soldiers

The faithful at the Masjid Darul Quran mosque in Bay Shore Friday expressed shock at the massacre at Fort Hood, <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> - and hope the killings will not perpetuate stereotypes about Muslims.
<a href="/topics/Nidal_Malik_Hasan">Nidal Malik Hasan</a>, the Army psychiatrist who allegedly shot 13 people dead and injured 30, is a Muslim who grew up in <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a>.
"As a Muslim, as a physician, it's a horrible day for me," said Dr. Hafiz Rehman, a pediatrician in Bay Shore. "We are here to save lives, not take lives." 
The president of the mosque, Muhammed Athar Suhail, took the unusual step of reading a statement at the end of Friday afternoon prayers, the largest of the week and which attracted about 400 men and 150 women.
The mosque "stands together with our fellow citizens in denouncing the cowardly act on innocent people in Fort Hood, <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>," he said.
He added that "no religion could ever justify such an atrocious act of violence. Allah says in His holy book, the Quran, that the 'killing of an innocent person is like killing the whole of humanity,' so any such murderous act is totally against the teaching of Islam."
Some in the congregation said, in fact, they thought it was unfair for the killings to be linked in public discussion to their religion, and that it was a form of stereotyping. "You can have these bad apples in any religion - Muslim, Christian, Jewish," said Iftikhar Khan, 41, a family medicine doctor at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore. "He was a psychiatrist but he behaved like a psychotic."
Added Najma Grimaldi, of Commack, "It should not be based on the religion. It should be based on the individual."
Still, Habeeb Sheriff, 50, a banker from Brentwood, said the massacre was "heartbreaking. It's sad to see one of your own do something like this."
Bilal Hito, 24, a store owner from West Islip, also said he hopes the killings don't contribute to stereotypes about Muslims. He said he runs a Web site, yourmuslimneighbor.com, through which he gives out free Qurans and pamphlets about Islam, and arranges visits to mosques.
"There are a lot of Muslims in the <a href="/topics/United_States">United States</a> - they are part of society," said Khan, the Southside Hospital doctor. "Nobody wants to destroy their own home."

LIMOSQ07

Fort Hood massacre shocks faithful at Bay Shore mosque

Fort Hood Shootings

FORT&nbsp;HOOD&nbsp;(AP) -- Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire, the base commander said Friday. 
Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said officials had not yet confirmed that the suspected shooter, Maj. <a href="/topics/Nidal_Malik_Hasan">Nidal Malik Hasan</a>, made the comment, which is Arabic for "God is great!" before the rampage Thursday, which left 30 people wounded, including the gunman. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a> 
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. 
Cone said Hasan was hospitalized in stable condition and that investigators hope to interrogate him as soon as possible. In the early chaos after the shootings, authorities believed they had killed him, only to discover later that he had survived. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/obama-laments-horrific-outburst-of-violence-1.1569671">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see the President's reaction to the recent chain of events</a> 
Cone said Hasan was not known to be a threat or risk. He acknowledged that it was "counterintuitive" that a single shooter could kill and injure so many people. But he said the massacre occurred in "close quarters." 
"With ricochet fire, he was able to injure that number of people," Cone said. Authorities are investigating whether Hasan's weapons were properly registered with the military. 
Cone is crediting a civilian police officer for stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at the <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> post. 
He said Friday morning that Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon. Cone said Munley shot the gunman four times despite being shot herself. 
Military officials said Munley was in stable condition Friday. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/u-s-army-fort-hood-shooting-suspect-is-alive-1.1569864">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see Lt. General Cone brief media on suspects whereabouts</a> 
Cone said, “It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer.” 
Cone also said he was inspired by a woman who helped carry a wounded victim and used her blouse as a tourniquet, then realized she’d been shot in the hip. 
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 <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> and <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>. Sen. <a href="/topics/Kay_Bailey_Hutchison">Kay Bailey Hutchison</a>, R-<a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>, said generals at Fort Hood told her that Hasan was about to deploy overseas. 
Lee said Hasan had hoped <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">Obama</a> would pull troops out of <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> and <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars. 
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. 
<a href="http://www.exploreli.com/video/videos-shootings-at-ft-hood-1.1569957">&gt;&gt;VIDEO: Click here to see all videos relating to the Fort Hood shootings</a> 
The gunfire broke out around 1:30 p.m. at the Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. Nearby, some soldiers were readying to head into a graduation ceremony for troops and families who had recently earned degrees. 
Pastor Greg Schannep had just parked his car along the side of the theater and was about to head into the ceremony when a man in uniform approached him. 
"Sir, they are opening fire over there!" the man told him. At first, he thought it was a training exercise — then heard three volleys and saw people running. As the man who warned him about the shots ran away, he could see the man's back was bloodied from a wound. 
Schannep said police and medical and other emergency personnel were on the scene in an instant, telling people to get inside the theater. The post went into lockdown while a search began for a suspect and emergency workers began trying to treat the wounded. Some soldiers rushed to treat their injured colleagues by ripping their uniforms into makeshift bandages to treat their wounds. 
Video from the scene showed police patrolling the area with handguns and rifles, ducking behind buildings for cover. Sirens could be heard wailing while a woman's voice on a public-address system urged people to take cover. Schools on the base went into lockdown, and family members trying to find out what was happening inside found cell phone lines jammed or busy. 
"I was confused and just shocked," said Spc. Jerry Richard, 27, who works at the center but was not on duty during the shooting. "Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can't even defend yourself." 
The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>, Cone said. Their identities and the identities of the dead were not immediately released. 
The bodies of the victims would be taken to <a href="/topics/Dover_Air_Force_Base">Dover Air Force Base</a> in <a href="/topics/Delaware">Delaware</a> for autopsies and forensic tests, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that were under investigation. 
There also will be a ceremony at the air base to honor the dead. 
Jamie and Scotty Casteel stood outside the emergency room at the hospital in Temple waiting for news of their son-in-law Matthew Cooke, who was among the injured. 
"He's been shot in the abdomen and that's all we know," Jamie Casteel told The <a href="/topics/Associated_Press">Associated Press</a>. She said Cooke, from New York state, had been home from <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> for about a year. 
Amber Bahr, 19, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition, said her mother, Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis. 
"We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly," Pfund said. She couldn't provide more details and only spoke with emergency personnel. 
Nathan A. Hewitt, 26, of Lafayette, Ind., was shot in the hip and calf, his uncles Elmo Robledo and Rex Deaton told the Journal &amp; Courier. 
Ashley Saucedo told WOOD-TV in Michigan that her husband was shot in the arm, but she couldn't discuss specifics. Saucedo said she and the couple's two children weren't permitted to leave their home at Fort Hood during the shootings. 
For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood in July, Hasan worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing a career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. The 39-year-old Army major received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001. 
But his record wasn't sterling. At Walter Reed, he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. And while he was an intern, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time. 
Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Md., said "I got the impression that he was a committed soldier." He said Hasan attended prayers regularly at the mosque in Silver Spring, Md., and was a lifelong Muslim. He spoke often with Hasan about Hasan's desire for a wife. 
In an interview with The Washington Post, Hasan's aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, Va., said he had been harassed about being a Muslim in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and he wanted out of the Army. 
"Some people can take it and some people cannot," she said. "He had listened to all of that and he wanted out of the military." 
At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades. 
Investigators had not determined for certain whether Hasan was the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case. 
The FBI, local police and other agencies searched Hasan's apartment Thursday night after evacuating the complex in Killeen, said city spokeswoman Hilary Shine. She referred questions about what was found to the FBI. The FBI in Dallas referred questions to a spokesman who was not immediately available early Friday morning.

ny-usarmy1106

Army: Fort Hood suspect said ‘Allahu Akbar!’ before shooting

Fort Hood shooting

WASHINGTON - Fort Hood, the <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a> military base that was the scene of a mass shooting Thursday, has been hard hit by the growing strain on the Army from multiple combat deployments, with its personnel suffering the highest number of suicides among Army installations since the U.S.-led invasion of <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a>, according to official data. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a> 
After more than eight years of lengthy war zone rotations in <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> and <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>, Army personnel are experiencing record rates of suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other mental health problems, as well as worsening alcohol and drug abuse. 
The psychological toll on the all-volunteer force today is unprecedented, Army officials say, acknowledging that they do not know how much the Army can sustain before it breaks - making the health of the force a major consideration in President <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">Obama</a>'s current deliberations over how many more U.S. troops to send to <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>. 
It's unclear what motivated the Army psychiatrist who is thought to have opened fire on fellow soldiers Thursday, although it's clear he had worked in settings where the effects of combat stress were pervasive. 
A small but increasing number of soldiers undergoing the mental strain of repeated combat deployments are taking lives - often their own. 
This year, 117 active-duty Army soldiers were reported to have committed suicide, with 81 of those cases confirmed - up from 103 suicides during the same period last year. Ten suicides have been reported at Fort Hood this year; more than 75 of its personnel have committed suicide since 2003. Fort Hood's high number of suicides is also linked to the fact that it is the Army's largest base, with more than 53,000 soldiers. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a>

USTROO06

Fort Hood troops hit hard by pressures of combat

92800543BS0025_SHOOTING

An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the <a href="/topics/United_States">United States</a>. 
 The gunman, first said to have been killed, was wounded but alive and in stable condition under military guard, said Lt. Gen. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a> 
 Bob Cone at Fort Hood. “I would say his death is not imminent,” Cone said. Col. Ben Danner said the suspect was shot at least four times. 
 The man was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old, eight-year veteran from <a href="/topics/Virginia">Virginia</a>. 
President Barack <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">Obama</a> called the shooting at the Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening, “a horrific outburst of violence.” 
“It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas,” the commander in chief said. “It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.” 
There was no official word on motive. Hasan had transferred to Fort Hood in July from Walter Reed Medical Center, where he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. 
 Sen. <a href="/topics/Kay_Bailey_Hutchison">Kay Bailey Hutchison</a>, R-Texas, said generals at Fort Hood told her that Hasan was about to deploy overseas. &nbsp; 
Retired Col. Terry Lee, who said he had worked with Hasan, told Fox News he was being sent to <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>. 
 Lee said Hasan had hoped <a href="/topics/Barack_Obama">Obama</a> would pull troops out of <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> and <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars. 
Officials were investigating whether Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name, possibly as part of a conversion to Islam. However, they were not certain of his religion. 
Video from the scene showed police patrolling the area with handguns and rifles, ducking behind buildings for cover. Sirens could be heard wailing while a woman’s voice on a public-address system urged people to take cover. 
“I was confused and just shocked,” said Spc. Jerry Richard, 27, who works at the center but was not on duty during the shooting. “Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can’t even defend yourself.” 
Soldiers at Fort Hood don’t carry weapons unless they are doing training exercises. 
 The Rev. Greg Schannep was about to head into a graduation ceremony when a man in uniform approached him, warning him that someone had opened fire. Schannep heard three volleys of gunfire and saw people running. 
 “There was a burst of shots and more bursts of shots and people running everywhere,” said Schannep, who works for local Congressman <a href="/topics/John_Carter">John Carter</a>. 
 The uniformed man who had warned him ran to the theater. Schannep said he could see the man’s back was bloodied from a wound. The man survived, was treated and will be fine, Schannep said. 
 Cone said initially three people were held, and all have been interviewed. Authorities believe, however, that there was a single shooter. 
 The Soldier Readiness Center holds hundreds of people and is one of the most populated parts of the base, said <a href="/topics/Steve_Moore">Steve Moore</a>, a spokesman for III Corps at Fort Hood. Nearby there are barracks and a food center where there are fast food chains. 
 The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said. Their identities, and the identities of the dead, were not immediately released. 
 Amber Bahr, 19, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition, said her mother, Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis. 
 “We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly,” Pfund told The <a href="/topics/Associated_Press">Associated Press</a>. She couldn’t provide more details and only spoke with emergency personnel. 
Hasan was single with no children. He graduated from <a href="/topics/Virginia_Tech">Virginia Tech</a>, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry in 1997. He received his medical degree from the military’s Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in <a href="/topics/Bethesda">Bethesda</a>, Md., in 2001 and was at Walter Reed for six years for his internship, residency and a fellowship. 
 The attack happened just down the road from one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. On Oct. 16, 1991, George Hennard smashed his pickup truck through a Luby’s Cafeteria window in Killeen, Texas, and fired on the lunchtime crowd with a high-powered pistol, killing 22 people and wounding at least 20 others. 
 No other shooting at a military base in the U.S. has been anywhere near as deadly as Thursday’s. In 1993, a gunman at Fort Knox shot five civilian co-workers, killing three, and then fatally shot himself. Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down. 
 Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the <a href="/topics/United_States">United States</a>. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco. 
<a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/12-dead-in-fort-hood-shooting-spree-1.1569637">&gt;&gt;&gt;PHOTOS: Fort Hood shooting spree</a>

ushood0606

Army: 12 killed in Fort Hood attack, suspect still alive

Fort Hood hug

Cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans are soaring, requiring innovative treatment for the battle-weary, but questions abound over who can best treat the doctors caring for those who've experienced war's horrors. 
U.S. Army Maj. <a href="/topics/Nidal_Malik_Hasan">Nidal Malik Hasan</a>, who authorities say opened fire Thursday at Fort Hood, <a href="/topics/Texas">Texas</a>, is a psychiatrist who routinely treated veterans returning from <a href="/topics/Iraq">Iraq</a> and <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> with post-traumatic stress disorder - PTSD. The condition, which is often marked by extreme anxiety, emerges after exposure to devastating events. 
Many experts now believe psychiatrists and other mental health professionals who are told about extreme trauma begin to feel traumatized themselves. 
"There is no question that there is a contagious nature of the emotional experience of people who have been traumatized," said <a href="/topics/Hofstra_University">Hofstra University</a> professor Robert Motta, who specializes in PTSD. 
Motta served in <a href="/topics/Vietnam">Vietnam</a> in the 1970s with the U.S. Army's 1st Calvary Division, one of the units at Fort Hood. He added mental health workers are often encouraged to counteract the stress by speaking with colleagues or seeking psychological help themselves. 
Dr. Sandra Kaplan, medical director of the Rosen Family Wellness Center in Manhasset, which is designed to treat mental health issues specific to military and law enforcement personnel, said while exposed to the trauma of others, mental health experts do not have to succumb to it. 
"You can prevent the trauma by working in a group," said Kaplan, adding the Rosen Center, a division of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, bases its care on a team approach. 
Just as Motta believes stories of extreme trauma are contagious, Kaplan said team members can thwart the downward spiral of a colleague. 
Hasan, single, was reportedly a loner and anxious about being deployed to <a href="/topics/Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>. He was seriously wounded in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement and is in stable condition in a hospital near the base. 
Dr. Charlene Thomesen, of the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said many professionals struggled as patients conveyed their stories following the 9/11 disaster. Like Kaplan, she says colleagues can help alleviate pressure. 
In Washington, D.C., Dr. Antonette Zeiss, deputy chief mental health consultant for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said teams are important. "As we've developed more PTSD expertise, we have mandated that every medical center should have PTSD teams," she said. 
With Martin C. Evans

LIPTSD07

Mental health workers also may feel traumatized

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