As if going off to war, Major Nidal Malik Hasan cleaned out his apartment, gave leftover broccoli to one neighbour and called another to thank him for his friendship - common courtesies and routines of the departing soldier. Instead, authorities say, he went on the killing spree that left 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, dead.
Investigators examined Hasan's computer, his home and his garbage today to learn what motivated the suspect, who lay in a coma, shot four times in the frantic bloodletting. Hospital officials said some of the wounded had extremely serious injuries and might not survive.
The 39-year-old Army psychiatrist emerged as a study in contradictions: a polite man who stewed with discontent, a counsellor who needed to be counselled himself, a professional healer now suspected of cutting down the fellow soldiers he was sworn to help.
Relatives said he felt harassed because of his Muslim faith but did not embrace extremism. Others were not so sure. A recent classmate said Hasan once gave a jarring presentation to students in which he argued the war on terrorism was a war against Islam, and "made himself a lightning rod for things" when he felt his religious beliefs were challenged.
Investigators were trying to piece together how and why Hasan allegedly gunned down his comrades in the worst case of violence on a military base in the US The rampage unfolded at a centre where some 300 unarmed soldiers were lined up for vaccines and eye tests.
Soldiers reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" - an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" - before opening fire Thursday, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the post commander. He said officials had not confirmed Hasan made the comment.
Hasan's family said in a statement Friday that his alleged actions were deplorable and don't reflect how the family was reared. "Our family is filled with grief for the victims and their families involved in yesterday's tragedy," said Nader Hasan, a cousin who lives in northern Virginia. "We are mortified with what has unfolded and there is no justification, whatsoever, for what happened. We are all asking why this happened, and the answer is that we simply do not know."
The 30 wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas. W. Roy Smythe, chairman of surgery at Scott and White Memorial Hospital, said several patients were still at "significant risk" of losing their lives.
Army briefers told lawmakers in Washington eight other people were treated at a hospital for stress and trauma.
At a news conference, Army Col. John Rossi, deputy commander at Fort Hood, said 23 people remained hospitalised, about half still in intensive care. He praised the soldiers' quick actions during and after the shooting barrage, which he said saved lives.
Rossi said that the assailant fired more than 100 rounds and that his weapons were not military arms, but "privately owned weapons ... purchased locally." Law enforcement sources in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said records indicate Hasan in recent months bought the FN 5.7 pistol at a store called "Guns Galore" in Killeen, Texas.
The dead included a pregnant woman who was preparing to return home, a man who quit a furniture company job to join the military about a year ago, a newlywed who had served in Iraq and a woman who had vowed to take on Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In a vigil on Friday night, several hundred people gathered at a stadium on the sprawling Army post, the country's largest. It was the first gathering of the community since the killings.
Earlier, 13 flag-draped coffins departed for Dover Air Force Base and the military's mortuary based in Delaware, Rossi said. Officials said the result of autopsies on the victims will be made available to the appropriate federal and military agencies that are probing Thursday's shooting. They will determine if any of the victims might have been hit by friendly fire, something Rossi all but dismissed.
Hasan, meanwhile, was transferred Friday to the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Rossi gave no indication of his condition except to say he was "not able to converse." Army Chief of Staff George Casey said he asked bases around the country to assess their security. He also said he was worried about a backlash against the thousands of Muslim soldiers serving dutifully in uniform.
Hasan was due to be deployed to Afghanistan to help soldiers with combat stress, a task he'd done stateside with returning soldiers, the Army said. Army spokeswoman Col. Cathy Abbott was uncertain when Hasan was to leave but he was in the preparation stage of deployment, which can take months.
In any event, the major was saying goodbyes and dispensing belongings to neighbours.
Jose Padilla, the owner of Hasan's apartment complex, said Hasan gave him notice two weeks ago that he was moving out this week.
Earlier this week, Hasan asked Padilla his native language. When Padilla said it was Spanish, Hasan immediately went up to his apartment to get him a Spanish-language Quran. Padilla said Hasan also refused to reclaim his deposit and last month's rent, surrendering $US400 ($NZ562) that the major said should go to someone who needed it.
"I cannot comprehend that the enemy was among us," Padilla said, as he teared up. "I feel a little guilt that I was basically giving housing to someone who is going to do so much destruction." Neighbour Patricia Villa said Hasan came to her apartment the day of the shooting, and before, to give her vegetables, an air mattress, T-shirts, a Quran and offer her $US60 to clean his Killeen, Texas, apartment after he left.
Hasan is the Arlington, Virginia-born son of Palestinian parents who ran a restaurant and bar in Roanoke, Virginia, from 1987 to 1995 and owned a small grocery store in that city.
His relatives in the West Bank said they had heard from family members that Hasan felt mistreated in the Army as a Muslim.
"He told (them) that as a Muslim committed to his prayers he was discriminated against and not treated as is fitting for an officer and American," said Mohammed Malik Hasan, 24, a cousin. "He hired a lawyer to get him a discharge."
Mohammed Hasan said outside his home in Ramallah that he heard about the shooting from a relative. "I was surprised, honestly, because the guy and his brothers are so calm, and he, as I know, loves his work." Nidal Hasan is the eldest of three brothers. One brother, Annas, lives in Ramallah with a wife and daughter, and practices law. The youngest brother, Eyad, lives in Virginia.
"We don't mix with them a lot," Mohammed said. "Nidal liked to stay alone, he was very calm. He minded his own business." Hasan graduated from medical school at the Uniformed Services University in 2003, said Sharon K. Willis, speaking for the school.
He then entered a psychiatry residency program at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, which he completed in 2007. He returned to the university for the disaster and military psychiatry fellowship in 2007.
The first phase of that fellowship is earning a master of public health degree, which he completed in 2008. He completed the fellowship program in June.
A month later, Hasan reported for duty at Fort Hood.