AWOL Soldier Says He Planned Second Ft. Hood Attack
Police also discovered bomb-making materials, shotgun shells, and ammunition in the man's apartment.
| Posted Thursday, July 28, 2011, at 3:17 PM
Texas police on Thursday detained an AWOL U.S. soldier, who told investigators after his arrest that he planned to attack soldiers at the Fort Hood military base.
Police also discovered bomb-making materials, shotgun shells, and ammunition in the man's apartment, a federal law enforcement official told CNN. The soldier, Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, 21, was arrested at a Killeen, Texas traffic stop.
Abdo raised suspicions after making roughly $250 worth of purchases at a local gun store called "Guns Galore." According to a clerk in the store, Abdo seemed unfamiliar with the pistol and ammunition he was buying. The clerk, Greg Ebert, told the Associated Press that after watching Abdo, he "felt uncomfortable with his overall demeanor and the fact he didn't know what the hell he was buying." Ebert added, "I thought it prudent to contact the local authorities, which I did."
The arrest comes almost two years after a shooting spree at Fort Hood killed 13 people and wounded 29 others. Nidal Malik Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, has been charged with the killings.
Even before his arrest, Abdo had a troubled record with the military. In 2009, he refused to deploy for Afghanistan and applied to be discharged as a conscientious objector, arguing that his Islamic faith prohibited him from fighting in the war. Abdo received approval for the request from the Army, but on May 13, he was charged with possession of child pornography. He was awaiting a possible court-martial went he went AWOL from Fort Cambell in Kentucky on July 4.






