Fort Hood shooter had 177 unspent rounds.
San Antonio Express News ^ | 10/20/2010 | Scott Huddleston
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FORT HOOD — Military investigators said the gunman in the shooting rampage last Nov. 5 hadn't used even half of his ammunition.
The testimony this morning in the Article 32 hearing of Maj. Nidal Hasan revealed that the shooter had 177 unspent rounds, compared to the 146 discharged rounds recovered at the scene.
Those numbers suggest that the shocking incident, which left 13 dead and dozens more wounded, could have been much, much worse had it not been for the quick actions of two civilian police officers on the post who also testified today.
Officer Kimberly Munley, who arrived at the scene with police Sgt. Mark Todd right behind her, said she saw the gunman outside a building just north of the "medical SRP," or Building 42003, where the shooting began at the Solider Readiness Processing complex.
Munley said she couldn't fire her M-9 service pistol at first, because people were running behind the assailant.
"I didn't want to have any friendly fire," she testified. "So I could not get an accurate shot."
As the suspect went around the building, Munley went around the other side and exchanged gunfire with him. She said she fired at least six shots. Todd testified that he started to follow the gunman and then went the other direction as bystanders told him, "He's over there."
Munley received a superficial wound on her hand and was shot twice in the legs. Her gun malfunctioned, and the gunman kicked it out of her hand, she said.
As Munley tried to drag herself toward her weapon, the suspect then seemed to have problems with his gun, she said. Todd said he saw Munley lying on the ground, with the shooter about 20 feet away. He yelled at the man to drop his weapon.
When the suspect shot at him, Todd returned fire with five rounds, he said. The man slid down a telephone pole onto his back, and Todd rushed him, handcuffed him and removed his weapons and ammunition.
Duane Mitchell, special agent with the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, said authorities recovered five loose unused rounds and another 172 rounds in seven full or partly full magazines. The gunman used a 5.7-millimeter pistol with a laser sight that emitted a green beam for daylight use and red beam for darker lighting, he said.
Kelly Jameson, lead investigator in the case with Army CID, said 146 spent rounds and six empty magazines were recovered at the scene.
In earlier testimony late Tuesday, Sgt. 1st Class Maria Guerra, noncommissioned officer in charge of medical processing in the building, testified that the gunman deftly and efficiently changed magazines without hesitation, "like one motion."
Mitchell said receipts indicated Hasan had purchased "watch-type batteries" to power the laser sight just days before the shooting. Cells to power the red laser were purchased on Nov. 2, he said. The next day, Hasan went to a different store to buy stronger batteries needed for the green laser, Mitchell said.
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Hassan is a hero of the left.
