Nov 5, 2009 8:23 pm US/Central
Official: Accused Ft. Hood Shooter Alive
Hasan Was Preparing To Deploy Overseas
FORT HOOD, Texas (CBS) ―
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Sgt. Fanuaee Vea, left, embraces Pvt. Savannah Green outside Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009, in Killeen, Texas.
Ben Sklar/Getty Images
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Soldiers from 3rd Brigade "Grey Wolf" 1st Cavalry division from Fort Hood Texas get ready to return to the US after finishing their tour in Iraq at Warhorse base in Baquba, Diyala province, 27 November 2007.
Gianluigi Guercia/Getty Images
Federal law enforcement officials say the shooter suspected in the attack Thursday on Fort Hood, Texas, did not in fact die as had been previously reported. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is alive and has been hospitalized, according to Lt. Gen Bob Cone, the Commander of Fort Hood.
Cone offered little explanation to reporters at a news conference as to why the suspect was believed dead, saying only there was confusion at the hospital.
Hasan was the lone gunman in the attacks, Cone said. The death toll remains at 12; The number of wounded is 31.
FBI agents were investigating Hasan, and officials said Thursday he may have been the author of Internet postings about suicide attacks. Cone said investigators are not ruling out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
One of the Web postings 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.
His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.
Retired Army Col. Terry Lee, who said he worked with Hasan, told Fox News that Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Lee said Hasan got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars, and had tried hard to prevent his pending deployment.
Hasan was a licensed psychiatrist in Bethesda, Md. He got his Virginia psychiatry license July 12, 2005.
It was not known whether he was treating people at the base. Hasan received poor performance evaluation for Army hospital work, according to an Associated Press source.
The Virginia-born soldier was single with no children. He graduated from Virginia Tech University, 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 Bethesda, Md., in 2001. At Walter Reed, he did his internship, residency and a fellowship.
Officials says it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to the Islamic faith at some point.
According to the Army Times, Hasan was promoted to Major, medical corps on April 22, 2009. Hasan was about to deploy overseas, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson said. It was unclear if he was headed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and when he was scheduled to leave.
Austin's Statesman.com reports that Jeff Sadosky, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, said the senator had been told that Hasan was upset about his upcoming deployment to Iraq.
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