Nidal Hasan

Hasan nidal

Nidal Malik Hasan (born September 8, 1970) is a former United States Army major and psychiatrist who carried out the Fort Hood shooting on November 5, 2009. In this mass shooting at Fort Hood, located near Killeen, Texas, Hasan killed 13 people and injured more than 30 others. It was the deadliest mass shooting on an American military base. Hasan was shot and apprehended by responding officers, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. In 2013, he was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. Hasan was sentenced to death and is currently on military death row at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Early Life and Education

Nidal Malik Hasan was born in Arlington, Virginia, to Palestinian parents who had emigrated to the U.S. from the West Bank. He attended high school in Virginia before going on to earn a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech in 1995. Following his undergraduate education, Hasan was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army and attended the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, graduating with a medical degree in 2003. He later completed a psychiatry residency and a fellowship in disaster and preventive psychiatry.

Military Career

Throughout his military career, Hasan was promoted to the rank of major. He served as a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the DiLorenzo Tricare Health Clinic at the Pentagon. Despite concerns from colleagues about his behavior and professional conduct, Hasan was transferred to Fort Hood in July 2009, a few months before the shooting.

Fort Hood Shooting

On November 5, 2009, Hasan entered the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, armed with a semi-automatic pistol. He opened fire, killing 13 people, including a pregnant woman, and injuring more than 30 others. Witnesses reported that Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" before starting the shooting. The motive behind the attack was investigated, and it was found that Hasan was in communication with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric known for his ties to al-Qaeda. This led to discussions about whether the shooting was an act of terrorism.

Trial and Conviction

Hasan's trial began in August 2013. Representing himself, he admitted to the shootings, stating that he carried them out to protect Taliban leaders in Afghanistan from U.S. troops. On August 23, 2013, he was found guilty on all charges. Hasan was subsequently sentenced to death. His case has sparked debates on workplace violence, terrorism, and the challenges of dealing with radicalization within the military.

Legacy

The Fort Hood shooting had a significant impact on military policies, including improvements in base security, the handling of internal threats, and the support for victims of violence on military bases. It also raised questions about the challenges of identifying and preventing radicalization among service members.