Hasan’s messages were picked up by US counterterrorism officials but an inquiry into the matter was shelved because the contacts were not deemed to suggest a threat, this official said. Investigators are now trying to determine whether Hasan has any links to terrorist groups.
Investigative officials said yesterday that Hasan, 39, apparently acted alone and without outside direction in the attack. They said they still had not determined a motive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation on the record.
Hasan will be charged in a military court, they said.
Authorities say Hasan, fired off more than 100 rounds Thursday at a soldier-processing center. Fifteen victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and eight were in intensive care.
Awlaki, now living in Yemen, was a spiritual leader at two mosques where three 9/11 hijackers worshiped and had contact with two of them. He praised Hasan as a hero on his personal website yesterday.
The posting said American Muslims who condemned the Fort Hood attack are hypocrites who have committed treason against their religion. Awlaki said the only way a Muslim can justify serving in the US military is if he intends to “follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal.’’
“Nidal Hassan [sic] is a hero,’’ Awlaki said. “He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people.’’
Two US intelligence officials confirmed the website was Awlaki’s. Awlaki did not respond to an attempt to contact him through the site.
Hasan’s family attended the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., where Awlaki was preaching in 2001. Hasan’s mother’s funeral was held at the mosque on May 31, 2001, according to her obituary in the Roanoke Times newspaper, around the same time two 9/11 hijackers worshipped at the mosque and while Awlaki was preaching.
The Falls Church mosque is one of the largest on the East Coast, and thousands of worshipers attend prayers and services there every week.
