KILLEEN, Tex. — The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood appears to be paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his bullet wounds, his lawyer said Friday.
The suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, remains in the intensive care unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio with four bullet wounds, said the lawyer, John P. Galligan. He is coherent but easily fatigued and cannot sit up or feel anything in his legs, Mr. Galligan said.
Military officials charged Major Hasan, 39, with 13 counts of premeditated murder on Wednesday, setting in motion a court-martial proceeding that could lead to the death penalty.
The psychiatrist was brought down in a gunfight with two police officers after the Nov. 5 rampage on unarmed soldiers and civilians in a center on the post where military personnel receive medical attention before being deployed or after returning from missions.
Dewey Mitchell, a spokesman for the hospital, said he could not confirm whether Major Hasan was paralyzed because he has requested that no information be released about his condition.
Mr. Galligan said he had had only two conversations with Major Hasan.
The news of his condition came as a Republican congressman in Texas asserted that Major Hasan, who had communicated with a radical cleric in Yemen, had also made wire transfers to unknown people in Pakistan.
The congressman, Representative Michael McCaul, a ranking member on the Homeland Security Intelligence Subcommittee, said he had confirmed reports that Major Hasan had been communicating with someone in Pakistan, but declined to give any details about the source of the information. The Dallas Morning News reported earlier that investigators were examining whether Major Hasan had wired money abroad.
“In addition to the e-mails to the imam in Yemen, I have confirmed through independent sources that there were communications and wire transfers made to Pakistan,†Mr. McCaul said in a statement. “This Pakistan connection just raises more red flags about this case and demonstrates why it’s important for Congress to exercise its oversight authority.â€
The disparity between Major Hasan’s income and his lifestyle has led to questions about how he spent his money. As an Army major with more than a dozen years of service, Major Hasan earns about $92,000, but he rented a $350-a-month apartment in a run-down neighborhood here and drove a 2006 Honda Civic.
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr. New York Times
