Hasan Charged With 13 Counts of Murder

Death Penalty Possible at Military Trial; Additional Charges Possible

(CBS/ AP)  Updated at 2:03 p.m. EST

Army psychiatrist Maj. Nadil Malik Hasan, suspected in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and could face the death penalty is convicted, according to an officials.

Additional charges are possible as the investigation into the mass shooting continues, said Chris Grey, the spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigation Division.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama ordered a review of all intelligence related to Hasan, and whether the information was properly shared and acted upon within government agencies.

Authorities say Hasan walked into an on-base medical facility last Thursday and opened fire on dozens of unsuspecting fellow soldiers with a semi-automatic handgun. Thirteen people died and 29 more were wounded. Hasan, who will be tried in a military court, is believed to have acted alone in the attack, Grey said.

Special Section: Tragedy at Fort Hood

Officials familiar with the case told the Associated Press it is still possible to charge Hasan with a 14th count of murder related to the death of the unborn child of a pregnant shooting victim.

John Galligan, Hasan's civilian attorney, said his military co-counsel told him that charges were being read to Hasan in the hospital without his lawyers present.

"I don't like it. I feel like I'm being left out of the loop," Galligan said. "I guess it's 13 charges, but I don't like to have to guess in this situation."

Months before last week's shootings, doctors and staff overseeing Hasan's training reported viewing him at times as belligerent, defensive and argumentative in his frequent discussions of his Muslim faith, according to a military official familiar with several group discussions about Hasan. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the meetings and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Hasan was characterized in meetings as a mediocre student and lazy worker, a matter of concern among the doctors and staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a military medical school in Bethesda, Maryland, the official said.

The concerns about Hasan's performance and religious views were shared with other military officials considering his assignment after he finished his medical training, and the consensus was to send the 39-year-old psychiatrist to Fort Hood in Texas, the official said.

One of the largest military installations, it was considered the best assignment for Hasan because other doctors could handle the workload if he continued to perform poorly and his superiors could document any continued behavior problems, the official said.

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Hasan repeatedly referred to his strong religious views in discussions with classmates, his superiors and even in his research work, the official said. His behavior, while at times perceived as intense and combative, was not unlike the zeal of others with strong religious views. But some doctors and staff were concerned that their unfamiliarity with the Muslim faith would lead them to unfairly single out Hasan's behavior, the official said.

Some in the group questioned Hasan's sympathies as an Army psychiatrist, whether he would be more aligned with Muslims fighting U.S. troops. There also was some concern about whether he should continue to serve in the military, the official said.

At one point, Hasan's supervisors ordered him to attend a university lecture series on Islam, the Middle East and terrorism, hoping to steer him toward productive work addressing potential concerns of Muslims in the military, according to The Washington Post. Hasan attended the lectures late last year or early this year, The Post reported Thursday, quoting a Walter Reed staff member who spoke anonymously because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

A joint terrorism task force overseen by the FBI learned late last year of Hasan's repeated contact with a radical Muslim cleric who encouraged Muslims to kill U.S. troops in Iraq. The FBI said in a statement late Wednesday that the task force did not refer early information about Hasan to superiors because it concluded he wasn't linked to terrorism.

The doctors and staff who discussed concerns about Hasan had several group conversations about him that started in early 2008 during regular monthly meetings and ended as he was finishing a fellowship in disaster and preventive psychology this summer, the official familiar with the discussions said.

They saw no signs of mental problems, no risk factors that would predict violent behavior. And the group discussed other factors that suggested Hasan would continue to thrive in the military, factors that mitigated their concerns, the official said.

According to the official, records reviewed by Hasan's superiors described nearly 20 years of military service, including nearly eight years as an enlisted soldier; completion of three rigorous medical school programs, albeit as a student the group characterized in their discussions as mediocre; his resilience after the deaths of his parents early in his medical education, and an otherwise polite and gentle nature when not discussing religion.

Citing the investigation and the Privacy Act, the Army and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences have released only minimal details of Hasan's career. He entered the Army in 1997 as a 2nd lieutenant and started the medical school program, according to a service spokesman in Washington.

But school records from Barstow Community College in Barstow, California, where Hasan was a student from 1989 to 1990, show his military service began much earlier. Maureen Stokes, a spokeswoman for the college, said the records indicate he was a private first class with an infantry unit at Fort Irwin, California. Hasan received 10 credits for his military experience, she said.

[gangesdak]

No folks, it has been said, Hassan cannot get a fair trial in or around Ft Hood. Matter of fact, his counsel is said to have stated he cannot get a fair trial in the US. Soudi Arabia or Pakistan has been selected as possible places for his trial; only Pakistanis need apply for the grueling jury duty. According to his counsel, Hassan would take any punishment, by the grace of merciful Alla*h, the Pakistani jury awards him. The circus begins.

[special-agent-utah]

Retardation is the norm of this board ,retardation detected in several posts,what triggers such retardation of the masses,Hardly ever seen an intelligent comment posted on this story by a jew or southern christians, Whats the matter with you fools ...Oh I see religion by itsself is a form of retardation ...We have been doomed and we are clearly doomed to ever find the reason behind our existance and why we do the things we do in the form of delusional retardations...Yes?

[erich_1-2009]

Your grammar, punctuation, and spelling are atrocious.
You might try writing your intelligent post again.

[linfinster]

They should be including 29 counts of attempted murder for the injured as well.

[wjones76]

It should be 14 counts....an unborn baby died also

[50BMS13]

wjones76
Agreed! What I want to know is will it be 72 virgins per death achieved or is it only 72 virgins regardless of achieved deaths? Does anyone know what the Koran says about this?

[50BMS13]

The answer has to be 0 virgin's cause the Koran is wrong. Or 936 virgins cause he killed 13 or 1008 virgins cause he killed 14. At least one of these scenario's is definitely the right answer.

[stryker54]

Put this arab on a barrel of explosives and pour some pig fat all over him and than light the fuse. He will die knowing he isn't getting 72 virgins or going to see his allah. Continue the practice till these arab pricks realize we have had enough of their beliefs. America is base on christianity, not being a Muslim. ANd to all you liberals, I don't hate their religion or them, just hate what they have been doing in the name of their religion. ANd their actions are just to f-ing absurd.

[50BMS13]

stryker54
Great post! Good points. Nice to through some humor in there too. Totally agree.

[fuzzyi]

HOW SAD TO SEE THIS FILTH BEING SPEWED BY A SO-CALLED "CHRISTIAN". AMERICA'S MORALLITY LEAVES MUCH TO BE DESIRED.

[searingtruth]

"No one whose conscience has come alive kills the innocent.

Only those whose conscience has died."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[50BMS13]

According to eye witnesses he said a prayer in front of everyone, got up off the mat, and shouted "Allah Ahkbar" then let 100 rounds go at unarmed people. Then he went to re-load clips and got shot. How is this not a terrorist act and why won't Obama call it one?

[spaceatoms]

good point

[AOCGUY]

50BMS13 - A key point of the definition of terrorism that it is focused on using terror to coerce a group or state. While MAJ Hasan's attack was clearly heinous, who was he trying to coerce? He may even believe what he was doing was in line with his warped religious beliefs and could even be classified as a hate crime but this really doesn't appear to be an act of terrorism. Now the Army investigation may prove otherwise but indecriminately tossing around like terrorism, doesn't bring back the victims nor change the fact that Hasan will most defintely be courts martialed and quite possibly face the death penalty shuold he be convicted.

[zootsuithap]

Lets see, a black male cop caps this perp, and a white chick gets the hero label by the media...?

[KellyBurrisPhD]

Nidal Hasan needs to be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted for this despicable crime but it is important not to use him as yet another excuse for the incredible incompetence of the mental health industry. The most important information from the Generals and mental health professionals about the Fort Hood shooting will not be revealed until the media asks better questions and demands hard evidence in regard to these questions.

1) What in your opinion causes some to suffer PTSD and why are others not affected. In other words what in your opinion brings about a human emotion and behavior? (One cannot fix it if one does not know how it works and one does not know how it works if one cannot clearly answer this question)
2) What do you measure when treating PTSD and is this measurement used to measure possible transference issues with psychiatrists, psychologists and counselors? (If ones emotional state is not measured and monitored there is no baseline by which to accurately assess patients or doctors)
3) Is there hard data you can show us that indicates what you are doing is working in regard to PTSD?
4) Can you show us the process of screening and treatment for all mental health issues?

While everyone gives their best guess as to what happened at Fort Hood no one is asking these four simple questions in regard to the core issues of mental health in the military. General Casey states there is a ?Comprehensive Soldier Fitness? program and a program for ?Master Resilience Trainers? with 122 million dollars spent on the program but no one is asking in essence ?Where?s the Beef?? In other words, where is the science that indicates they are actually producing results?

Transference is a well known term in mental health. It is used to describe what happens to psychiatrists and psychologists who begin to take on the issues of their clients. This is one of the many reasons it is important to move away from talk therapy and to begin to use a program process that resolves the core issue of how each person processes information. This can be done by teaching the client how to restructure the subconscious processes causing the trauma. This ultimately puts them in control of their emotional state and behavior.

Early 2009 when the only evidence-based program process in mental health was submitted to fix the PTSD and suicide issue in the Army it was withdrawn from scientific review. When asked why it was withdrawn NIMH stated in regard to suicide and depression ?It is not what we would call a strong risk factor.? The answer to this question is indicative of how broken the mental health industry is. If the mental health industry is not required to ever produce any real evidence they will simply stay mired down in hypothetical, observational, subjective treatments without anyone held accountable for the disastrous results.

General Loree Sutton who is the Director of the Defense Center of Excellence takes the same approach at every interview. There is nothing substantive ever offered in regard to any hard evidence that what they are doing is working. The reason for this in large part is no one requires hard science from the mental health community. When DCoE was presented with the only proven process for the primary symptom of PTSD it was rejected because there was not any data specific to the military demographic. It did not matter it was the only program process with any data at all.

Kelly Burris, PhD

[Skirt-Lifter]

good post

[seafang]

Actually 14 people died; one of the women was pregnant and the baby died too.

And wouldn't you think after all this time they would know who shot all these people; so they could drop this alleged BS.

The soldiers were shot by a Moslem terrorist; is it any wonder, with what is in the White House; end of story.

[stryker54]

Your absolutely right. There's a bunch of terrosit in the WH and congress.