Major Nidal Malik Hasan still at ICU, off ventilator

Major Nidal Malik Hasan still at ICU, off ventilator, WASHINGTON: Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of a shooting spree that killed 13 people, remains in an intensive care unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and is no longer on a ventilator, said Colonel John Rossi, deputy commander at Fort Hood, Texas, at a news conference.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, the lead agency investigating the shooting, said all evidence gathered so far points toward Hasan allegedly acting alone.

“At this time, we have one alleged suspect connected to this mass shooting,” said Chris Grey, a spokesman for the division. “We have not established a motive for the shootings at this time.”

The shooting at the largest military base in the U.S. left another 30 wounded, officials said. The carnage could have been worse as the suspect stormed a crowded waiting room, reloading and firing more than 100 rounds from a semi-automatic machine pistol with an extended magazine, officials also said.

The investigation, which is led by a joint task force that includes local police as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, involves more than 170 interviews of witnesses and victims, Grey said.

Hasan, whose deployment date was set for “late November to Afghanistan,” and 17 others remain hospitalized, Rossi said. “Ten of those, including the suspect, are in ICU,” he said.