Incident Summary:
11/05/2009: On Thursday afternoon at 1330, in Ft. Hood, Texas, United States, Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on fellow soldiers with two pistols semiautomatic capable of firing up to 20 rounds without reloading, killing 13 and wounding 31 others. Military police forces shot the gunman, a military psychiatrist who was soon to be deployed to Iraq, and who was believed to be a recent convert to Islam who had complained he was being harassed by his military colleagues. Sources indicate that the shooting may have started during a graduation ceremony attended by large numbers of young military personnel at the base's Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. Hasan survived the gunshot wounds and was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, and Hasan was sentenced to death in August 2013.
Overview
GTD ID:
200911060002
When:
2009-11-05
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Texas
City:
Killeen
Location Details:
The attack took place at Fort Hood military base in Killeen, Texas, United States.
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Military |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
United States Army |
| Specific Description |
Military personnel |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Handgun |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Two semiautomatic pistols were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
No |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Jihadi-inspired extremists |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
1 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
13 Fatalities / 32 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
13 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
13 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
32 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
31 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
1 |
Sources
Sources
| Australian, "Gunman Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan Kills 12 and Injures 31 Soldiers in Massacre at Texas Base Fort Hood," http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/gunman-army-major-hassan-malik-kills-12-and-injures-31-soldiers-in-massacre-at-texas-base-fort-hood/story-e6frg6n6-1225794947581 (November 6, 2009). |
| MSNBC, "Gunman Kills Twelve, Wounds Thirty One at Fort Hood," http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33678801/ns/us_news%20-crime_and_courts (November 5, 2009). |
| The Washington Post, "Nidal Hasan sentenced to death for Fort Hood shooting rampage," August 28, 2013. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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