Fort Hood Attack Detailed As Trial Gets Underway

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) — The showdown some expected between the gunman in the Fort Hood shooting massacre and his victims did not materialize on his first day of trial.

As prosecutors began to present a methodical, detailed case Tuesday, Maj. Nidal Hasan raised almost no objections and let most witnesses pass without asking questions.

He gave a one-minute opening statement saying he was soldier who had switched sides in what he described as a war between America and his Islamic faith. He then fell mostly silent.

Among the witnesses he did not question was retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, one of more than 30 people wounded in the deadliest attack on a U.S. military installation ever.

Lunsford described for jurors where bullets hit his body in the November 2009 attack that left 13 dead.

NOMAAN MERCHANT,Associated Press
PAUL J. WEBER,Associated Press