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Army chaplain seeks prayers for Fort Hood shooter

Deacon Bob Butler works of a memorial at Central Christian Church in Killeen, Texas on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. The memorial, 13 crosses and flags, is to honor those killed and wounded in the shooting spree at Fort Hood Army Post. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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A soldier walks by a memorial to solider from Fort Hood who have died in foreign wars, at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers during a rampage that left 13 people dead on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 and 30 injured. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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A U.S. flag flies half-mast, in honor of the 13 dead and 30 wounded in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood Army post in central Texas, at an outpost for soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in the Pech Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar province Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

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In this image released by the U.S. Army, unidentified soldiers participating in their college graduation ceremony broke away from the celebration to treat another wounded soldier on the steps of Fort Hood's Howze Theater in the aftermath of an attack by a lone gunman Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, in Fort Hood, Texas. Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of firing more than 100 rounds Thursday, killing 13 and wounding others, in the soldier processing center at Fort Hood. (AP Photo/U.S. Army, Jeramie Sivley)

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By ALLEN G. BREED, The Associated Press Updated 1:56 PM Sunday, November 8, 2009

FORT HOOD, Texas — Mourners were asked to pray for the man authorities say went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood and his family, and an Army chaplain exhorted his congregation on Sunday to draw together even if the gunman's motives may never be fully known.

"Lord, all those around us search for motive, search for meaning, search for something, someone to blame. That is so frustrating," Col. Frank Jackson told a group of about 120 people gathered at the post's chapel. "Today, we pause to hear from you. So Lord, as we pray together, we focus on things we know."

Jackson asked worshippers to pray for the 13 dead and 29 wounded that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of shooting, but also asked them to pray for Hasan and his family "as they find themselves in a position that no person ever desires to be."

"And Lord, teach us to love and pray for those who rise up against us and pray for those who do us harm. We pray for Maj. Hasan. Asking that you do the work that only you can do in his life," Jackson said.

At least 16 victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds Sunday, and seven were in intensive care.

Military criminal investigators continue to refer to Hasan as the only suspect in the shootings Thursday but won't say when charges would be filed. Hasan, who was shot by civilian police to end the rampage, was in critical but stable condition at an Army hospital in San Antonio. He was breathing on his own after being taken off a ventilator on Saturday, but officials won't say whether Hasan can communicate.

A government official speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case said an initial review of Hasan's computer use has found no evidence of links to terror groups or anyone who might have helped plan or push him toward the attack. The review of Hasan's computer is continuing, the official said.

Army investigators on Sunday were searching for additional evidence to put together a comprehensive bullet trajectory analysis. Investigators were "seeking any military or civilian personnel who may have left the scene ... with gunshot damage such as damaged privately owned vehicles," Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug said in a statement.

Hasan likely would face military justice rather than federal criminal charges if investigators determine the violence was the work of just one person.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said he plans to begin a congressional investigation to determine whether the shootings constitute a terrorist attack. Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, said on "Fox News Sunday" that he wants to find out whether the Army missed warning signs that Hasan was becoming extreme.

"If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have zero tolerance," he said. "He should have been gone."

Army Chief of Staff George Casey warned against reaching conclusions about the suspected shooter's motives until investigators have fully explored the attack. He said on ABC's "This Week" that focusing on Hasan's Islamic roots could "heighten the backlash" against all Muslims in the military.

There had been signs in recent months that Hasan's growing anger with the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were at odds with his military service, including his comments that the war on terror was "a war on Islam." Others who knew Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, said he had wrestled with what to tell fellow Muslim solders who had their doubts about fighting in Islamic countries.

"I told him, 'There's something wrong with you,'" Osman Danquah, co-founder of the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I didn't get the feeling he was talking for himself, but something just didn't seem right."

Danquah assumed the military's chain of command knew about Hasan's doubts, which had been known for more than a year to Hasan's classmates at a Maryland graduate military medical program. There, students complained to faculty about Hasan's "anti-American propaganda," but said a fear of appearing discriminatory against a Muslim student kept officers from filing a formal complaint.

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Associated Press Writers Devlin Barrett, Richard Lardner and Jessica Gresko in Washington contributed to this report.

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November 08, 2009 06:52 PM EST

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There is something wrong with the United States too and especially Republicans.

Stephen Bickford
3:27 AM, 11/8/2009

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Go to worldnetdaily.com and read about Hasan participating in Obamas homeland security conference, don;t think you will read it anywhere else.maybe Fox news sunday

Philman
7:35 PM, 11/7/2009

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Liberals are in quite ajam over this one. How to defend someone who obviously hates America...but is part of the one organization despised by liberals the most. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...let's see...I know. Paint him as a victim because his bumper sticker got ripped off. With that logic, every Christian in this country who has seen a Christian fish turned into a Darwin lizard should have gone off the deep end years ago.

mohammed
6:01 PM, 11/7/2009

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