Major Nidal Malik Hasan Identified As Fort Hood Shooter

The person who killed 12 people at Fort Hood today appears to be Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist formerly stationed at Walter Reed Medical Center. Some details can be found here. A records search by INTELWIRE turned up no court or medical board disciplinary actions concerning Hasan. A search of INTELWIRE databases also returned negative results. A criminal records search turned up a couple of apparent minor traffic violations.

What elevates this case from a random shooting are the reports that two other suspects have been taken into custody in the case. If these arrests are legitimate, it obviously implies terrorism or at least conspiracy. If the arrests are simply people swept up in the confusion, the shootings would appear more likely the act of a deranged individual.

UPDATE: The Army has just corrected earlier reports that the shooter was dead. It turns out he isn't, and the suspect said to be in custody is Hasan himself. The Army says they believe Hasan was the only shooter. So it appears likely that there is not a broad conspiracy here, but as the Army said, the investigation continues... END UPDATE

If it does turn out to be terrorism, it certainly wouldn't be the first time the Army has been infiltrated by such operatives. INTELWIRE will continue montioring the situation. If it turns out to be terrorism, look for updates on INTELWIRE's new sister site, AmericanJihadists.com.

Labels: Nidal-Malik-Hasan, Weblog

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Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink