Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

KILLEEN (CBS/AP) ― Army officials said the shooting suspect in the attack Thursday on Fort Hood did not in fact die as had been previously reported. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is alive and has been hospitalized, according to Lt. Gen Bob Cone, the commander of Fort Hood.

Hasan was shot four times and was on a ventilator and unconscious, according to military officials. "I would say his death is not imminent," Cone said.

Cone offered little explanation to reporters at a news conference as to why the suspect was believed dead, saying only there was confusion at the hospital.

Hasan was the lone gunman in the attacks, Cone said. The death toll remains at 13. The number of wounded is 30.

Officials said Hasan may have been the author of Internet postings about suicide attacks. Cone said investigators are not ruling out the possibility of a terrorist attack.

One of the Web postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

Hasan is a licensed psychiatrist in Bethesda, Md. He got his Virginia psychiatry license on July 12, 2005.

WJZ-TV: Shooting Suspect ID'd As Bethesda Psychiatrist

It was not known whether Hasan was treating people at the base. He received a poor performance evaluation for Army hospital work, according to an Associated Press source.

The Virginia-born soldier is single with no children. He graduated from Virginia Tech University, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1997. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001. At Walter Reed, he did his internship, residency and a fellowship.

Officials said it was not clear what Hasan's religion was, but investigators are trying to determine if Hasan is his birth name or if he may have changed his name and converted to the Islamic faith at some point.

Retired Army Col. Terry Lee, who said he worked with Hasan, told Fox News that Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Lee said Hasan got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars, and had tried hard to prevent his pending deployment.

Hasan attended prayers regularly when he lived outside Washington, often in his Army uniform, said Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Md. He said Hasan was a lifelong Muslim.

"I got the impression that he was a committed soldier," Khan said. He spoke often with Hasan about Hasan's desire for a wife.

On a form filled out by those seeking spouses through a program at the mosque, Hasan listed his birthplace as Arlington, Va., but his nationality as Palestinian, Khan said.

"I don't know why he listed Palestinian," Khan said. "He was not born in Palestine."

Nothing stood out about Hasan as radical or extremist, Khan said. "We hardly ever got to discussing politics. Mostly we were discussing religious matters, nothing too controversial, nothing like an extremist."

According to the Army Times, Hasan was promoted to Major, medical corps on April 22, 2009. Hasan was about to deploy overseas, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson said. It was unclear if he was headed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and when he was scheduled to leave.

Jeff Sadosky, a spokesman for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, said the senator had been told that Hasan was upset about his upcoming deployment to Iraq.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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