The Federal Bureau of Investigation released its report on the incidents surrounding the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood which left 13 dead and dozens wounded.
“The investigation did not probe the shootings, which are the subject of a U.S. Army-led inquiry and military criminal proceeding against Major Nidal Hasan,” a press release states. Rather, the report, drafted by Judge William H. Webster, considers whether the FBI missed warning signs that shooting suspect Hasan would launch an attack against fellow service members.
Discussion of the report has focused on competing assessments of army psychiatrist Hasan from separate FBI field offices – specifically whether correspondence with slain terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki was work-related or something more.
The review found that FBI agents on the San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force were aware that Hasan had contacted al-Awlaki numerous times before the shooting spree and discussed the killing of civilians, but failed to bring that information to the attention of the Department of Defense. In one email, Hasan discussed suicide bombers, and whether it is permissible for "the killing of innocents for a valuable target." But an FBI field office in Washington determined that Hasan, an American-born Muslim who served at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was not involved in terrorist activities, according to the review.
The report contains 18 recommendations for “corrective and enhancing measures” which the FBI has issued responses to.
You can read the report on the FBI’s website.
