Fort Hood suspect charged with attempted murder

Dec 2, 2009, 22:09 GMT

Washington - The suspected gunman in the deadly shootings at Fort Hood was charged Wednesday with 32 counts of premeditated attempted murder, the US Army confirmed.

Those charges are in addition to the 13 counts of premeditated murder filed against Major Nidal Malik Hasan on November 12. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty in the military court-martial.

Hasan, a 39 year-old Army psychiatrist, is accused of entering a building on the Texas Army base November 5 and opening fire with two handguns. Thirteen people died and dozens more were wounded.

The attempted murder charges represent 32 of the victims who were shot but survived the attack, including 30 soldiers and two civilian police officers, the Army said, adding more charges could be filed.

The rampage ended when police officers shot Hasan, who reportedly ended up paralyzed from the waist down and continues to receive medical treatment.

Authorities were still investigating the motive behind the attack and have not ruled out the possibility of terrorism. There have been reports that Hasan, a devout Muslim, was disgruntled over his pending deployment to the war in Afghanistan.

During his years in the military, Hasan had reportedly become increasingly vocal about his religious faith and opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.