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Gunman who opened fire at Fort Hood was an army psychiatrist
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In this Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 photo, U.S. Army Spc. Jerry Richard and his daughter Samyia Jones, 3, wait outside of the main gate to Ft. Hood after a shooting earlier at Fort Hood, Texas. Richard's wife also in the Army and three other children were still in lock down on the base.
Army Psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, has been identified as the gunman who opened fire on military personnel and civilians at Fort Hood yesterday, killing 12 and wounding 31. Hasan was initially believed to have been killed at the scene, but military sources have revealed that Hasan was taken into custody severely wounded, and according to a CNN report, is currently in stable condition.
View Slideshow: Fort Hood Massacre
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, told the press that military officials told her that Hasan appeared to be “pretty upset” about being scheduled for a deployment to Iraq. This may be why he opened fire at Fort Hood’s readiness center, where soldiers are processed and approved for deployment.
This horrific event has shocked the nation, and perhaps most shocking of all is the news that Hasan was an Army psychiatrist who worked at Walter Reed Army Hospital for six years before arriving at Fort Hood to take a position at the Darnall Army Medical Center. MSNBC reports that an anonymous source told the Associated Press that Hasan had received a poor performance evaluation at Walter Reed, but there are no reports of complaints, disciplinary action, or previous deployments outside of the U.S. Alternately, Yahoo news reports indicate that Hasan provided quality care to his patients and had no problems with work performance.
However, something must have gone terribly wrong in the mind of this man in order for him to have committed such an atrocity. We can only speculate on the possible causes for such an act, but one might expect that some sort of mental illness is likely to be a contributing factor. For example, it’s possible that while working with soldiers suffering from combat exposure and severe trauma Hasan may have experienced a phenomenon known as vicarious or secondary trauma that could have impacted his mental state and made him vulnerable to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, a psychotic break or other psychological crisis.
Regardless of Hasan’s motives or mental health status, his deadly actions have left a wake of grief, shock, and outrage behind. President Obama stated, "It's 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." For many, it may be impossible to understand how such actions could be committed by a man whose duty was to heal, not harm.
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