Nidal Hasan
An Army psychiatrist who carried out the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. military base, a act of violence that sparked intense debate about terrorism and mental health.
Born 1970 (age 56)·American Army officer and mass murderer·Birthday: September 8·Generation X
Biography
Nidal Hasan’s life represents a profound and tragic rupture. Born to Palestinian immigrant parents, he pursued a career in medicine through the U.S. Army, becoming a psychiatrist. His military service was marked by evaluations that noted concerning behavior and conflicts over his Muslim faith amidst the post-9/11 wars. On November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, Texas, Major Hasan opened fire in a soldier readiness processing center, killing 13 people and wounding over 30 others. He was shot and paralyzed by police response. His 2013 court-martial was a stark affair; he offered no defense, admitted to the shootings, and stated he had switched sides in what he viewed as a war against Islam. Convicted and sentenced to death, his case forced painful examinations of internal security, radicalization, and the classification of terrorism within the U.S. military.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Nidal was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Nidal Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Nidal's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Convicted on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
- Was a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, specializing in psychiatry.
- Received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
- His court-martial and death sentence marked a significant legal proceeding for a crime on a military installation.
Did You Know?
He was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by civilian police officers responding to the attack.
Hasan represented himself during his court-martial and did not call any witnesses in his defense.
Prior to the shooting, he had been in contact via email with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric.
The attack led to a controversial initial classification of the incident as 'workplace violence' rather than terrorism.
“I am the shooter. I was the one who shot those people at Fort Hood.”
