Fort Hood shooter was former Barstow college student

The Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people and injured over 30 more after opening fire at Fort Hood, Texas, Thursday studied in the past at Barstow Community College and was living at Fort Irwin.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, attended BCC’s satellite campus at Fort Irwin from the spring semester of 1989 to the spring semester of 1990, according to college spokeswoman Maureen Stokes.

College records also show that Hasan, who would have been 19- or 20-years-old at the time, was an enlisted soldier at an E-3 rank (private first class) or below while attending BCC. Hasan’s residential address zip code also indicated that he was living on post, according to Stokes.

Fort Irwin officials have not yet been able to confirm whether Hasan was stationed at the fort at that time, according to spokesman Etric Smith. Smith said that Army records show that Hasan joined the Army in 1995 and said fort officials could not account for the discrepancy at the time.

According to his school records, Hasan was a model student. He earned straight A’s and made the dean’s list during his three semesters at BCC. Hasan had not declared a major and took classes ranging from English and political science to intermediate algebra and biology, Stokes said. Hasan did not take any psychology courses at BCC, according to Stokes.

The Fort Irwin community observed a moment of silence in honor of the shooting victims at 11:34 a.m. Friday, according to fort spokesman John Wagstaffe. As far as increasing security on post in response to the Fort Hood shooting, Wagstaffe said the military cannot discuss changes to the level of security at its installations.

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