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Suspected shooter, Sept. 11 hijackers may be linked

Nov. 10, 2009

By The Associated Press

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspect in the largest shooting on an American military base, may have had ties to Sept. 11 hijackers who attended the mosque his mother's funeral was held.

Hasan's family held his mother's funeral May 31, 2001 at Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., -- the same mosque that two Sept. 11 hijackers attended in 2001, at a time when a radical imam, or spiritual leader, preached there.

In 2001, Anwar Aulaqi was an imam at a mosque and told the FBI that he met with Sept. 11 hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi several times in San Diego. Al-Hazmi was living with hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar. The two, along with hijacker Hani Hanjour, attended the Dar al Hijrah mosque in Virginia in early April 2001. However, in his FBI interview, Aulaqi denied ever meeting with al-Hazmi and Hanjour while in Virginia.

The FBI will probably look into whether Hasan associated with the hijackers, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Hasan is currently at Brooke Medical Center in San Antonio, 150 miles southwest of Fort Hood, and has been able to talk since Saturday, when his ventilator was removed. U.S. Army spokesperson Chris Grey said the Hasan is conscious and stable.

FBI agents questioned Hasan's neighbor, Willie Bell, who considered Hasan to be a friend, for four hours Thursday.

"The guy would give you his shoes, shirt and pants off his back -- a very soft spoken guy," Bell said. "He'd give you a ride anywhere - if you needed a ride to the store he'd take you."

Bell, who let Hasan share his Internet for the last few months, lives in the apartment complex, Casa del Notre, in Fort Hood.

Bell said he received a voicemail message on Thursday from Hasan saying, "It was nice knowing you buddy, and I wish you would answer the phone and I need you to turn - I need you to connect your laptop so I can get on the Internet."

The FBI seized Bell's laptop and phone records for further investigation. Hasan gave out copies of the Quran to people early last week, Bell said.

Hasan also gave away all of his furniture, free of charge, Bell said. "I don't know what made him do something like that."

Pfc. Tommy Daugherty was in the parking lot at Fort Hood on Thursday when shots were fired inside the Readiness Center.

"I did not see the suspect when the shots were fired," Daugherty said. "I was smoking a cigarette in the parking lot."

Upon hearing the shots fired, Daugherty utilized his military training and began to asses the situation. "I got down to the ground behind a vehicle," Daugherty said. "It isn't unusual to hear gunfire on base, but gunfire is never heard in the Readiness Center."

In response to the massacre in Fort Hood, Daugherty said that soldiers have bonded together during the difficult time. "Right now it is a mournful time for fallen and wounded soldiers," Daugherty said.

"Everyone is close on base but this has brought us closer." Chris Grey, spokesperson for Army Criminal Investigation Command, said the suspect fired shots inside and outside of the Readiness Center. The gun that Hasan used is referred to as the "cop killer" because it can fire the strongest ammunition, which can go through body armor, according to Grey.

Hasan purchased the 5.7 pistol and 357 magnum he reportedly used in Thursday's massacre at Guns Galore in Killeen, Grey said. A public affairs officer was filming a graduation service only a few yards away from the Readiness Center when shots were fired. He ran past Hasan on the ground while filming the chaos. "They had people laying down on the ground - I didn't know if it was him on the ground. I was just filming," said the public officer who wanted to remain anonymous.

Samuel Boles, father of a dental assistant who was in the readiness center, relayed the information his daughter told him.

"One of the soldiers kind of fell through the door, who had been shot three times. She and her doctor removed the patient they were examining," Boles said. "She had so much blood on her [dental smock] the only thing she could do was throw it away."

Chaplain Frank Jackson has been overwhelmed by the support of the community and nation during this difficult time.

"For me it has been a humbling experience and gratifying to see [soldiers] doing their best when called to duty."

Caroline Scholes contributed to this story.

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