Ft. Hood Rampage Video Allegedly Ordered Deleted

A soldier who recorded the terror of last year's deadly shooting rampage in Fort Hood using his cell phone was ordered by an officer to delete both videos, a military court heard Friday.

Under cross examination, Pfc. Lance Aviles told an Article 32 hearing that his noncommissioned officer ordered him to destroy the two videos on Nov. 5, the same day that a gunman let loose a volley of bullets inside a processing center at the Texas Army post.

The footage could have been vital evidence at the military hearing to decide if Maj. Nidal Hasan should stand trial in the shootings. The 40-year-old American-born Muslim has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

Prosecutors have not said whether they'll seek the death penalty if the case goes to trial.

Special Section: Tragedy at Fort Hood

Aviles described how he was waiting for medical tests at the center with his battle buddy, Pfc. Kham Xiong, when he heard someone shout and then the gunshots began.

He said he saw a tanned, balding man wearing an Army combat uniform and carrying a black pistol.

"I saw smoke coming from the pistol," Aviles told the court.

He and Xiong threw themselves to the floor. Aviles turned to his left to check his friend and discovered he had been shot.

"His head was facing the left and a shard of his skull was sticking up."

Xiong, a 23-year-old father of three from St. Paul, Minn., was among the 13 who died in the attack. Aviles was not hurt.

Aviles was the 20th person to provide testimony at the hearing.

Witnesses have testified Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - "God is Great!" in Arabic - before unleashing a volley of gunfire in a center where soldiers undergo medical tests before deploying.

Hasan had been trying to get out of his pending deployment because he opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had been saying goodbye to friends and neighbors, and had given away his Quran and other belongings.

Lt. Col. James L. Pohl, a military judge, is the investigating officer presiding over the Article 32 hearing - a proceeding unique to military law.

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