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Fort Hood shooting: Woman police officer who brought down Muslim major Nidal Malik Hasan after he shot dead 13 at Texas army base

By David Gardner and Liz Hazelton
Last updated at 5:32 PM on 06th November 2009

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* Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan shouted 'Allahu Akbar' as he opened fire
* Muslim major in stable condition under armed guard in hospital
* Hasan was fervently opposed to War on Terror
* Was due to be deployed to Iraq at end of year - but did not want to go
* Had treated hundreds of traumatised Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

Enlarge Heroine: Kim Munley, a civilian police officer, is the woman who brought Hasan down before he could slaughter more people

Heroine: Kim Munley, a civilian police officer, is the woman who brought Hasan down by shooting him four times before he could slaughter more people

The heroic policewoman who shot an army psychiatrist during a murderous gun rampage at an army base was today named as Sergeant Kimberly Munley.

She had been on routine traffic patrol when Major Nidal Malik Hasan entered a medical centre at Ford Hood, Texas, shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) and opened fire.

It took just three minutes for the slightly built mother-of-one to get to the scene, engaging the killer in a ferocious gun battle.

Witnesses said a bullet from Hasan's gun passed through both Sgt Munley's legs.

But despite her injuries, she continued firing at the soldier, hitting him four times before he was disabled.

The death toll sands at 13 with 30 others wounded. But senior officers believe the tragedy would have been much worse without Sgt Munley's actions.

Lt. Gen. Bob Cone described her actions as 'amazing and aggressive'.

'She was quite effective, one of our most impressive young policemen,' he added. 'She walked up and basically engaged him. I think, certainly, this could've been far worse.'

The sergeant is making a good recovery at a community hospital in the nearby town of Killeen where she lives with her young daughter, Jayden.

She has already been calling colleagues from her hospital bed to keep up to date with the latest developments in the case and to find out about casualties.

Her Twitter biography reads: 'I live a good life ... a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life.'

The soldiers and families of Fort Hood have already praised her for her bravery on her home page.

Jennifer Moss wrote: 'Thank You, me and my children and my husband are so proud of you, we are here at Ft. Hood, we were all so scared yesterday and now are thankful that we had an angel here that protected us when my husband could not.

'Praying for you a speedy recovery, I owe you a drink and dinner if I ever see you out and about.'

Soldier Zac Wengerd said: 'She really is a hero, as a soldier at Fort Hood, I think she was very brave in what she did, any one of us would have done the same and God bless her for her actions.'

And Gina Singer, added: 'We, here on Fort Hood, are so proud of you! Thank you so much for saving those many more lives that could have been lost yesterday! Hope you recover quickly.'
Major Nidal Malik Hasan

Rampage: Video footage shows Major Nidal Malik Hasan shopping at a 7-11 store just outside Fort Hood, Texas, seven hours before he shot 13 people dead

Nidal Malik Hasan

Purchase: The army psychiatrist, dressed in traditional Muslim clothes, buys coffee and hash browns

Nidal Malik Hasan

Caught on camera: Hasan grins as he leaves the store. The store owner said: 'He looked normal'

Gunman Hasan, who was furious about US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in a stable condition in hospital and under armed guard.

At the time of the shooting he was facing an FBI investigation for expressing sympathy with suicide bombers.

The major, 39, had allegedly posted a series of comments on a website which drew parallels between terrorists and a US soldier who sacrificed himself to save his comrades.

Investigators were tipped off six months ago by the devout Muslim's worried colleagues.

His behaviour was particularly alarming as he was responsible for the psychological well-being of many vulnerable soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

'If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory,' he is said to have written.

'Their intention is not to die because of some despair. Their act was not one of suicide that is despised by Islam.'

A well-known opponent of the war on terror, Hasan yesterday armed himself with two handguns before bursting into a medical centre at Fort Hood in Texas and spraying the room with bullets.

Witnesses described the carnage as the senior officer entered the Soldier Readiness Facility, where troops receive final check-ups before being deployed overseas, and opened fire at around 1.30pm.

Enlarge Fort Hood

Fort Hood is the world's biggest army base
Amber Bahr
George Stratton III
Keara Bono

Injured: (from left) Amber Bahr , George Stratton III and Keara Bono

George Stratton said his son George Stratton III was just five feet from the gunman and dived behind a desk to escape a hail of bullets.

'Around 15 rounds went off and people started dropping to the floor,' he said. 'My son peeked up over the desk and that was when he got shot.

'He said he saw one of the NCOs get badly shot. He told me "Dad, I got up, held my arm and took off running."'

Some victims were women. Amber Bahr, 19, had been on the phone to her mother before being shot in the stomach.

'She said "Hi Mommy, how are you doing?," Lisa Pfund said. 'All of a sudden, she said, "I gotta go."'

A short time later, Mrs Pfund received a phone call from the hospital confirming her daughter was injured.

Another of the injured was Private Keara Bono, 21. In a desperate phone call to her husband, she said: 'They shot me. And I'm still here in this country.'

He heard shots and shouting before the line went dead. She had been shot in the back.

In the aftermath of the shooting, soldiers rushed to treat their injured colleagues by ripping their uniforms into makeshift bandages.

The mayhem and terror at the scene was so great that officials have not ruled out the possibility that some casualties may have been victims of 'friendly fire', shot by authorities amid the confusion, said a senior US military source.

Fort Hood

Sergeant Anthony Sills, right, comforts his wife at the Fort Hood base where 13 soldiers were gunned down
Lt. Gen. Bob Cone
Barack Obama

Shock: Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Bob Cone (left) and Barack Obama speaking after the shooting

Of the 13 killed, 12 were soldiers and one was a civilian. Another 30 were injured, of which half needed surgery.

First reports said Hasan, who was wearing his uniform, had been killed. But early this morning it was revealed that he had been wounded and was in a stable condition on a ventilator.

'I would say his death is not imminent,' said Fort Hood military spokesman Lt. Gen. Bob Cone.


More...

* Fort Hood: The historic base built on a massive scale
* The smiling assassin: Who is Nidal Malik Hasan?
* The psychological scars borne by soldiers at world's largest military base
* 'Islam holds the human soul in high esteem': Muslims in the U.S. Army

Investigators said Hasan had used two pistols, one a semi-automatic. Neither of the weapons was military issue. Soldiers at the base only carry weapons during training exercises.

The shooting took place just 50 yards from the Howze Theatre where a graduation ceremony for soldiers who had finished college courses was due to take place.

There were 600 people inside the auditorium at the time but soldiers managed to close the doors, averting a potentially worse tragedy.
Hasan

Hasan was wounded in a shootout with troops after he had gunned down dozens of soliders

Hasan is described as:

* Single with no children. He was born in America but gave his nationality as Palestinian
* A devout Muslim who had frequent arguments with military colleagues who supported the war on terror
* Desperate to avoid deployment to Iraq at the end of the year. He claimed to have been harassed by colleagues for his religious beliefs
* Educated at Virginia Tech, where 32 people were killed by student Seung-Hui Cho in 2007

Retired Colonel Terry Lee who worked with the major said: 'He was so outspoken I once said to him, "Look, you got to cool it."

'He was reacting with open glee at the death of some soldiers by a suicide bomber. I told him, "You might not agree with this but this is the army and we are here to serve the country.'

Mr Lee said Hasan repeatedly stated: 'Muslims should rise up against the aggressors.'

'He was very much against that and he was appealing through the channels for the deployment to be cancelled,' Mr Lee said.

Tonight, Hasan's family released a statement describing his actions as 'despicable and deplorable.'

However, his cousin Nader Hasan revealed the major had been worried about being deployed to Iraq, which he had described as his 'worst nightmare.'

'I can't tell you why it happened,' Nader Hasan told Fox News. 'He's been making those requests (not to be deployed) since 9/11. He's been in military since right out of high school.

'Both his parents are American and I just want to make sure everyone understands he is a good American and we are shocked.' His aunt said he had wanted to be discharged from the army.

fort hood

Shocked: Specialist Ryan Howard and Specialist David Straub wait for news of fellow soldiers while waiting at the gate of the army base

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL COST OF WAR

Fort Hood, the world's largest military base, was already under psychological siege before yesterday's shooting.

Home to 50,000 personnel, the sprawling site has borne the brunt of bloody wars in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last eight years.

The death toll stands at 685. But many of the casualties of America's foreign policy are still living - and would have turned to Major Nidal Malik Hassan for help.

His role as an army psychiatrist was to treat soldiers with psychological problems.

Many would have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brought on by their experiences on active service.

Others would have been dealing with the aftermath of brain injuries.

Hasan's cousin Nader Hasan today suggested that the major struggled to cope with what he heard.

'He deals with stories, he'd tell us how he would hear things, horrific things,' he added.

Experts believe around 15 to 30 per cent of soldiers deployed on active service go on to develop psychological problems.

The risk increases with the tours of duty completed.

Paul Dirksmeyer, a chaplain at Fort Hood, described the results as 'emotional carnage', citing broken marriages, suicides and paranoia.

And then there is the less dramatic - but deeply debilitating - day-to-day behaviour - checking under the car for bombs before going to the supermarket, accelerating under bridges and swerving past tyres.

The effects on families are truly devastating.

'They are constantly watching their backs,' Charlotte Graves, a guidance counsellor at Fort Hood told The Times, referring to men returning from war zones.

'They are constantly on the alert, and the least little thing can set these guys off. They don't tolerate a lot of stuff.'

As an army psychiatrist, Hasan helped counsel countless traumatised soldiers returning from Iraq. 'He deals with stories, he'd tell us how he would hear things, horrific things,' his cousin added.

'But even before hearing things from the war, what was affecting him psychologically (was that) he was dealing with some harassment with some of his military colleagues to the extent that he hired a military attorney to try to have the issue resolved, pay back the Government to get out of the military.'

'It was the harassment that got to him, him being referenced from his Middle Eastern ethnicity even though he was born and raised here, went to high school here in North Virginia.. went to Virginia Tech and never been in any trouble, just normal and played sports.'

Last night the FBI was assisting the military with the investigation into one of America's worst killings at an army base.

Two soldiers who were apprehended as suspects were later released.

President Barack Obama described the incident as a ‘horrific outburst of violence'.

‘These are men and women who have made a selfless and courageous decision to risk and at some times lose their lives to protect the rest of us.

‘It is difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil,’ he said.

Mr Obama said he didn’t yet know all the details, but promised the government would get ‘answers to every single question'.

Lt General Bob Cone said the massacre was a 'terrible tragedy'.

' It’s stunning and the soldiers and families who work here are absolutely devastated,' he added.

Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armoured post in the world and home to about 52,000 troops.

The sprawling base, located halfway between Austin and Waco, was where Elvis Presley famously served part of his military service in the 1950s.

The base has lost more soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other military facility.

Hospitals in the area were appealing for more blood last night to deal with the wounded.

Complaints have grown in recent years of the psychological damage suffered by soldiers on the base as a result of repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The base has seen other violence in recent years. In September 2008, a 21-year-old 1st Cavalry Division soldier Jody Wirawan shot his lieutenant Robert Bartlett dead and then killed himself.

TROUBLING BACKGROUND OF NIDAL MALIK HASAN

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a US military base.

Most of all, his motive. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances, are troubling.

For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry.

Fort Hood

A SWAT team enters the main gate soon after the mass shooting

He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2001.

While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan had some 'difficulties' that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

Grieger said privacy laws prevented him from going into details but noted that the problems had to do with Hasan's interactions with patients.

BIGGEST MILITARY BASE IN THE WORLD

Named after a US Civil War general, Fort Hood has a 60-year history of military use and is home to thousands of soldiers.

The vast site in Texas covers an area of more than 200,000 acres (340 square miles) and is the only post in the United States capable of stationing and training two armoured divisions.

Set in rolling, semi-arid terrain, Fort Hood is located near Killeen.

There are 4,929 active duty officers and 45,414 enlisted army members based there.

A further 17,954 family members live on site.

Numerous sections are based at Fort Hood including cavalry divisions, air support operations, engineer brigades, artillery and surveillance.

Fort Hood was named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, who was regarded as an outstanding leader, gaining recognition during the Civil War as the commander of Hood's Texas Brigade.

The original site was selected in 1941, and construction of South Camp Hood began in 1942.

It was designated as Fort Hood, a permanent installation, in 1951.

North Camp Hood, located 17 miles to the north, was established shortly after the first land acquisition and was formerly a US Airforce base.

Both the airfield and the base were run by the air force from 1947 to 1952.

From 1952, the facilities were run by the US Army under the Defence Atomic Support Agency until they became part of Fort Hood in 1969.

He recalled Hasan as a 'mostly very quiet' person who never spoke ill of the military or his country.

'He swore an oath of loyalty to the military,' Grieger said. 'I didn't hear anything contrary to those oaths.'

But, more recently, federal agents grew suspicious.

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.

They 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.

One of the officials said that federal search warrants were being drawn up to authorise the seizure of Hasan's computer.

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 attended prayers regularly when he lived outside Washington, often in his Army uniform, said Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Maryland. He said Hasan was a life-long Muslim.

'I got the impression that he was a committed soldier,' Khan said. He spoke often with Hasan about Hasan's desire for a wife.

On a form filled out by those seeking spouses through a programme at the mosque, Hasan listed his birthplace as Arlington, Virginia, but his nationality as Palestinian, Khan said.

'I don't know why he listed Palestinian,' Khan said, 'He was not born in Palestine.'

Nothing stood out about Hasan as radical or extremist, Khan said.

'We hardly ever got to discussing politics,' Khan said. 'Mostly we were discussing religious matters, nothing too controversial, nothing like an extremist.'

Hasan earned his rank of major in April 2008, according to a July 2008 Army Times article.
He served eight years as an enlisted soldier. He also served in the Reserve Officer Training Corps as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech University. He received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry there in 1997.

MUSLIMS IN THE US ARMY

There is a small Islamic population currently on active duty in the US military.

Out of the 1.4 million service men and women, 3,572 are Muslim, according to US Department of Defense figures.

And out of that number, just 1,164 are in the Army - which has over half a million soldiers.
Afghanistan

Minority: There are very few Muslim soldiers in the U.S. Army (file picture of American forces in action in Afghanistan this week)

Muslim recruits are treated just as any other soldier and are expected to deploy to American stations around the globe and fight for their country regardless of whether the enemy shares their faith.

There are many cases of Muslims serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan and several have died on the battlefield.

Sergeant Youseff Mandour moved to America from Morocco at the age of 17 and joined the army five years later.

Now 25, he has recently returned from 12 months in Iraq and hopes for a lifelong career in the military.

'I’m fighting for a better life and a belief in freedom,' he said. 'I had a chance to get involved. I learned the English language and appreciate everything this country has given to me.

'That’s why I joined the Army. The U.S. is doing great things.'

The average age of Muslim soldiers is 21. Most are married, with one child.

Many US bases, including Fort Hood, make provisions for their Muslim recruits to worship just as they would for any other faith.

A handful of organisations began - many after the atrocities of 9/11 - representing Muslims in the military.

Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who heads the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council in Washington, D.C., counts upwards of 15,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guards as members.

A spokesman for the organisation, established to serve the spiritual needs of the Muslim military, said of Sunday's shootings: 'We express our deepest condolences to the victims and their families. We join the Community of Fort Hood, Texas in their mourning.

'Islam holds the human soul in high esteem, and considers the attack against innocent human beings a grave sin.

'This is a criminal act that is now best dealt with by the law enforcement community.'

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