AWOL: Suspect soldier admits to wanting to attack troops stationed at Fort Hood, before going awol

A private gone AWOL of Muslim American descent was detained near Fort Hood.

He informed police investigators that he wanted to damage fellow members of the military from the military services base, law enforcement boss in Killeen, Texas, claimed Thursday.

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Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo is expected to face federal government criminal charges soon after his police arrest, Chief Dennis Baldwin claimed. Baldwin mentioned that he knew of no additional threats for the location and also that Abdo had not any accomplices, “as far as I know.” The Chief officer made no other comments about the AWOL status of the detained soldier.

AWOL Campbell

Fbi representatives detected a bevy of potential bomb-making elements inside Abdo’s room, FBI spokesman Erik Vasys mentioned. Abdo, twenty-one, turned down deployment to Afghanistan and later had gone absent out of Fort Campbell in Kentucky following being accused of possessing child porn material, Vasys mentioned.

After a tip-off from a neighborhood weapon shop, Killeen police force detained Abdo at a traffic stop Wednesday, Vasys stated.

Two years ago, during 2009, that very same Texas army base had been the target of the firing spree that mortally wounded 13 individuals. Nidal Hasan had been charged with those killings. He’s yet another Muslim American soldier.

Gun store alerts police force to AWOL soldier

“Thanks to quick action by a Texas firearm dealer in alerting local police force to a suspicious character, and a prompt and vigorous response by the Killeen Law enforcement officials Department, we may well have averted a repeat of the tragic 2009 radical Islamic terror attack on our nation’s largest military installation,” stated Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, the House Army Caucus chairman.

Carter mentioned: “We now have an example of what works to prevent these type attacks, and as the coming days reveal more details about this attempt, we can determine better ways to thwart similar efforts in the future”

Carter’s office mentioned Killeen firearm supplier Guns Galore, the same store utilized by Hasan to acquire guns allegedly utilised in his assault, tipped off law enforcement officials with regards to a “suspicious male” whom obtained gunpowder, shotgun ammo, as well as a newspaper for a semiautomatic pistol.
Greg Ebert, a retired police force officer who works at Guns Galore, mentioned a young man showed up in the store Tuesday afternoon and browsed for about 20 minutes. He selected six one-pound canisters of smokeless gunpowder, Ebert explained.

AWOL soldier

Then, Ebert reported, the man asked the store owner questions about the nature of smokeless powder. 

“That is a red flag for me,” Ebert mentioned. “He should know. Why is he buying that much?”

Ebert reported the man also picked up one magazine and shotgun shells, and then left in a cab. After discussing the matter at length with the owner, Ebert called police force.

The soldier also purchased uniforms with Fort Hood unit patches from the neighborhood military surplus store, Carter’s office stated, citing police.

After Abdo’s arrest, police searched his hotel room and backpack and found six pounds of smokeless powder, Christmas lights and battery-operated clocks – which were apparently intended to create a timing and triggering device – sugar, shrapnel, a pressure cooker, and shotgun shells that were being dismantled for raw explosives.

The materials were sufficient to create a couple of bombs, a Department of Defense official reported to BelleNews. The awol soldier did not comment.

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Inside of the soldier’s rucksack, law enforcement officials also uncovered “Islamic extremist booklets,” a .40-calliber gun along with a grocery list of elements to get a bomb, a law enforcement officials official reported.

The investigation is still on-going in this case. It’s extremely likely that Abdo acted on his own and there is no evidence up to this point that links him to any terrorist groups, law enforcement officers declared.

“Islam is a much more peaceful and tolerant religion than it is an aggressive religion,” he explained. “I don’t believe that Islam allows me to operate in any kind of warfare at all, including the U.S. military and any war it partakes in. I believe that our first duty as a Muslim is to serve God.”

Hasan, the prime suspect in the 2009 Fort Hood killings, could face the death penalty. His trial is set to begin March 5, 2012.

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Witnesses at a preliminary hearing identified Hasan as the man who walked calmly through a medical building on the country’s largest military base, shooting and sometimes reloading his handgun as he shouted “Allahu akbar,” which means “God is great” in Arabic.

A statement on the Fort Hood website acknowledged Abdo’s arrest but said it had no connection to the base.

It reported Abdo had been assigned to Company E of the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team.

“Since he is in the custody of civilian authorities, jurisdiction over any potential new charges is yet to be determined. If returned to military control, he may face additional charges including AWOL,” the statement reported.

Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug said base officials have no indication that Abdo ever tried to obtain onto Fort Hood between the time he went AWOL and the time of his arrest.

A June 15th hearing recommended that Abdo be court-martialed.  He went AWOL after that.

In an interview this past year, Abdo explained felt compelled to remain true to his faith.

“We have two things that I believe make us American, and that’s freedom of religion and freedom of choice,” he explained.

When he first signed up for the military, Abdo did not think his religion would be an issue. “I was under the impression that I could serve both the U.S. Army and my God simultaneously,” he mentioned.

But as his deployment neared, he began to rethink things and eventually worked up the courage to approach his unit and tell them how he felt. AWOL soldier is currently in custody, awaiting a trial.