Army shooting suspect was heading to Iraq
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was licensed as a psychiatrist
NBC News and news services
updated 35 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Military officials say the suspected shooter at Fort Hood was a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for six years before being transferred to the Texas base in July, where he was preparing to deploy to Iraq later this month.
The officials had access to Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s military record. They said he received a poor performance evaluation while at Walter Reed.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because military records are confidential.
The Virginia-born soldier was single with no children. He was 39 years old.
He was a graduate of 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.
NBC News’ Pete Williams said Hasan had been promoted to major in May. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, said military officials told her that the gunman was upset about his impending deployment.
NBC News' Robert Windrem said Hasan specialized in traumatic stress. It was not known whether he was treating people at the base.
Hasan was born in Virginia, where he graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in biochemistry. He later attended U.S. military medical school, where he specialized in psychiatry.
The gunman was shot to death on the base after 12 people were killed and 30 wounded.
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.
Hutchison's office told NBC News that he had been overheard making negative comments about his impending deployment.
The shootings on the Texas military base stirred memories of other recent mass shootings in the United States, including 13 dead at a New York immigrant center in March, 10 killed during a gunman's rampage across Alabama in March and 32 killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at Virginia Tech in 2007.