Today, the horrible news from Fort Hood will spread to the rest of the country as friends and families learn that their loved ones are among the dead or injured in the shootings there. It will require a high degree of journalistic sensitivity to tell their stories. It would be a good time for you to revisit your protocols about when to release names. Here are some
guidelines I wrote that might help as you plan funeral coverage.Overnight, a good bit more information was revealed about the alleged shooter, psychiatrist and Army
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. The information may shed light on why military officials were interested in Hasan's
online writing.
On May 20, 2009, a person calling himself by the suspected shooter's name commented on a document published on the hosting service, Scribd.com.
The comments attributed to Hasan attempt to explain the difference between suicide and martyrdom. In the post, Hasan attempts to explain that giving one's life can be a military act, not purely a suicidal act. But, discomforting as it might be for a major in the military to be talking about suicide bombings involving U.S. soldiers, the comment does not seem to me to be overtly hostile toward Americans, soldiers or the military.
Hasan, a Muslim, was reportedly about to be deployed to Iraq and family members said he was "mortified" by the prospect. Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison told reporters he was to be deployed November 28.
Just before midnight Thursday,
CNN aired video of a man believed to be Hasan shopping at a small market around 6:20 Thursday morning. The man was wearing flowing white clothing, not military clothing. The store clerk told CNN the man, who he identified as Maj. Hasan, said recently he was concerned about going to Iraq, where he could have to fight fellow Muslims.
In all probability, we will hear more today about possible motives behind the rampage. While there is no proof that Hasan's religious beliefs were related to the shooting,
Muslim haters didn't wait. Muslim leaders say they have taken a scattering of hate calls and e-mails and are urging mosques to take precautions.
Muslim groups are condemning the shooting.Some Muslim groups held late night news conferences to condemn the shootings in time to make the late news and evening newspaper deadlines.
An immigration rights blog urged people to avoid Muslim bashing.
The New York Times reports on Hasan's concerns about deployment:"Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the 39-year-old man accused of Thursday's mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, started having second thoughts about his military career a few years ago after other soldiers harassed him for being a Muslim, he told relatives in Virginia.
"He had also more recently expressed deep concerns about being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. Having counseled scores of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, first at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and more recently at Fort Hood, he knew all too well the terrifying realities of war, said a cousin, Nader Hasan.
" 'He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy,' Mr. Hasan said. 'He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there.' "
According to his cousin, Nidal Hasan tried several years ago to get out of his military contract after he said he was harassed. In a separate interview, Hasan's aunt confirmed
his efforts to leave the military. But Maj. Hasan was reportedly told that even if he repaid his education costs, he would have to serve out his military contract.
Fort Hood has seen a lot of trauma in Iraq. ABC News pointed out that
Fort Hood has lost more troops in the war in Iraq than any other U.S. base. So far, 483 Fort Hood soldiers have died in Iraq and 15,000 troops from Fort Hood are in Iraq now. The 1st Cavalry Division is involved in its third deployment to Iraq. ABC says 20 soldiers from Fort Hood have died in Afghanistan.
Nidal Hasan also appears to be the same person who participated in the Homeland Security Policy Institute's presidential transition task force last year. He was affiliated with the Uniformed Services University. This is the
May 2009 report listing his name as a task force participant (see page 29, eighth name down on the left side).
Hasan is a physician registered to practice in Virginia.
His medical license, on file in Virginia, lists these facts.
Grad School: Uniformed Services University Of The Health Sciences F. Edward Herbert School Of Medicine - Bethesda MD
Year Completed: 2003
Psychiatry
WRAMC
Washington, DC USA
Year Residency Completed: 2007
Disaster and Preventive Psychiatry
USUHS/WRAMC
Bethesda, MD USA
Year Fellowship Completed: 2009
He is a graduate of Virginia Tech University, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1997.
His medical license shows no reported past legal troubles
.
Felony Conviction Information
Last Updated 10/13/2009
None Reported
Virginia Board of Medicine Notices and Orders Verified by Board
No Notices or Orders on file
Actions Taken by States/Organizations Other than the Virginia Board of MedicineLast Updated 10/13/2009
Web sites that allow patients to rate doctors included
several entries from people saying they had been patients of Maj. Hasan. But look carefully and you will see that the entries all were made yesterday, at least some after the shooting. Web site administrators removed at least one comment, saying "just checked our logs and the comment came in at 5:30pm EST and the shooting was at 4:30pm EST and we suspect this comment by Pvt J. Hammond maybe fictitious - Thanks to our readers for pointing at the impossibilities of his comments."
Hasan is single and had no children. He is an Arlington, Virginia native, according to officials at Walter Reed.
The Washington Post reports on
his interactions with the Muslim Community Center:
"The psychiatrist once said that 'Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor' and that the United States shouldn't be fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the first place, according to an interview with Col. Terry Lee, a former colleague, on Fox News.
"At the Muslim Community Center, Hasan stood out because he would sometimes show up in Army fatigues, said Faizul Khan, the former imam there.
" 'He came to mosque one or two times to see if there were any suitable girls to marry,' Khan said. 'I don't think he ever had a match, because he had too many conditions. He wanted a girl who was very religious, prays five times a day, which is all very good.'
"In search of a partner in marriage, Hasan wrote in an application filed with a local Muslim matching service that 'I am quiet and reserved until more familiar with person. Funny, caring and personable.'
" 'He was a very quiet and private person. I can't say that people knew him very well other than attending prayers,' said Arshad Qureshi, chairman of the board of trustees at the Muslim Community Center of Silver Spring. 'You didn't see him attend anything -- school for children or celebrations. He did not go out of the way to engage people. We have thousands of people who come through to pray; he was just one of them.' "
This story has unfolded on social media, with some news organizations using Twitter to keep people updated.
