Ft. Hood shooting suspect Nidal Hasan discharged from hospital

HOUSTON -- Ft. Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was discharged from the hospital Wednesday and has returned to a jail near the sprawling Army base about 80 miles north of Austin, Texas, a base spokesman said.

Hasan, 42, had been hospitalized at the base’s Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Saturday, but officials could not say why due to medical-privacy laws, Ft. Hood spokesman Tyler Broadway told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.

“He’s in good condition now,” Broadway said.

Broadway referred questions about whether Hasan’s medical condition would be monitored to Bell County Jail officials.

Officials there said Hasan’s condition would be monitored at the jail, about 20 miles east of Ft. Hood.

“We have doctors inside the jail,” said Bell County Sheriff’s Investigator James Lewing, who also told The Times that he could not say why Hasan was hospitalized due to medical-privacy rules.

Hasan had been listed in good condition and was expected to be released this week.

He has been charged with premeditated murder in connection with the killing of 13 people and the wounding of 32 more in a rampage at Ft. Hood on Nov. 5, 2009. He was shot four times in the attack, paralyzing him from the chest down, and now uses a wheelchair.

Hasan had been housed at Bell County Jail as he awaited his court-martial. The proceedings were originally scheduled to start last month, but have been delayed by appeals.

Hasan and his three attorneys have been fighting efforts by the trial judge to have him shave his full beard before the military trial starts. Hasan, who is Muslim, says that shaving would violate his religious beliefs. The judge and prosecutors maintain that the beard violates Army regulations.

The issue is pending before the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, which is awaiting filings by military prosecutors this week. Proceedings in Hasan’s court-martial have been suspended until the beard issue is resolved.

[For the record, Sept. 26, 3:04 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said that Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had returned to Ft. Hood. Instead, he returned to a jail near the base.]

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