The Private Life of Nidal Hasan

Nov. 11, 2009 — -- Accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan may have exchanged e-mails with a radical, jihadist cleric in Yemen, but the devout Muslim also tried to be nice to the neighbors in his Killeen, Texas apartment complex -- including one who allegedly vandalized his car.

Hasan was charged Thursday with 13 counts of premeditated murder under Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which can carry a sentence up to death or life imprisonment.

In the days before the Fort Hood shooting, Hasan tried to get rid of his few belongings. As one neighbor in the Casa del Norte apartment complex told ABC News, Hasan – a "soft-spoken guy" who was happy to do favors -- gave some of his furniture to another neighbor free of charge. But when ABC News toured Hasan's one-bedroom, $350-per-month apartment on Tuesday, traces of his conflicted private life remained.

In Hasan's living room, a crumpled prayer rug shared the floor with a paper-shredding machine. When he moved into the apartment in July, he'd put a bed in the bedroom, but he had gotten rid of the bed prior to the shooting.

In a closet, near the washer and dryer and wads of Hasan's clothing, including fatigues, was a box of pill bottles. The medications included a 2001 prescription for Combivir, a drug often prescribed for doctors who may have come in contact with HIV, as well as the antibiotic Clarithromycin, a cough reliever and an antihistamine.

On a card table in the kitchen were coins from various countries, including Israel, and an empty package for a LaserMax gun sight, with a $229.99 pricetag. There was also a book about Islamic dream interpretation, "Dreams and Interpretations," by Allamah Muhammad Bin Sireen. Anwar al Awlaki, the radical cleric in Yemen to whom Hasan had sent e-mails, has produced a lecture series on dream interpretation.

On the kitchen counter were some documents, including a 2003 psychiatry exam and an insurance report for his car.According to neighbor Kim Rosenthal, another neighbor had used a key to scratch Hasan's car and had also scratched a sticker saying "Allah is Love" off the vehicle. The resident was asked to leave, said Rosenthal. When she asked Hasan if he planned to do anything about the incident, Hasan said no. Reported Rosenthal, "He said, 'It's Ramadan, I've forgiven him.' And that was it."

Apartment manager John Thompson recalled Hasan as a "really pleasant, easy-going guy. Never complained about anything. Never gave anybody any trouble."

CLICK HERE TO SEE INSIDE THE HOME OF NIDAL HASAN

Said Thompson, "You ask him how he's doing and he'd always tell you he's blessed and he was a good guy, as far as we could tell, you know? Never imagine anything like this happening."

Thompson said Hasan had never had much furniture in the apartment. "There was just like a coffee table in here and his prayer rug laying down and then just ah, I think he had a bed in there and some shelves and that's basically all he had."

"People live different ways," said Thompson. "You just never know. Everybody's different."

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