WASHINGTON - The cousin of the suspected Fort Hood shooter says family members have no idea what allegedly prompted Major Nidal Malik Hasan to go on a rampage.

"We are all asking why this happened," Nader Hasan wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "And the answer is that we simply do not know."

"We cannot explain, nor do we excuse what happened yesterday," he added. 

Nader Hasan says his family is mortified, and his cousin's reported actions do not reflect their beliefs or principles. They spoke to the FBI (web) Friday about the case.

Hasan said his family is filled with grief for the victims and their families.

It's as if Hasan was a study in contradictions: a polite man who stewed with discontent, a counselor who needed to be counseled himself; by turns caring and contentious, he was quick to say "I am blessed" in casual greeting yet the professional healer is now suspected of cutting down the fellow soldiers he was sworn to help.

According to interviews with friends, family, former classmates and neighbors, Hasan was reserved but argued with fellow soldiers, devout but not fanatical, thought himself "a Muslim first and an American second," both supported and opposed U.S. war policy, and didn't want to be deployed.

The 39-year-old was born in Arlington and raised mostly in the Roanoke area, but attended Arlington's Wakefield High School for one year. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1995 after previously attending two community colleges.

He worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing a career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. The 39-year-old Army major received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.

But his record wasn't sterling. At Walter Reed, he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

And while he was an intern, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

Hasan lived in Silver Spring and Kensington, according to records, and worshiped at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring.  His former Imam describes him as a devout, not radical, Muslim.

"I found him very quiet, and had a nice quiet disposition, very willing to talk, you know, a humble guy," said Imam Faizul Khan. "I found him very interested in learning more about his religion."

Those who knew him doubt his actions were motivated by religion or politics.

"Something personally went wrong, that is all I can think of, knowing him," said Asis Quadry, Medical Director of the Muslim Community Center. "He never expressed his views about war, Iraq (web | news) or religion."

But a former classmate painted a different picture, as an outspoken opponent of the U.S. war on terror, who called it a "war against Islam."

Dr. Val Finnell studied with Hasan at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Both attended a master's in public health program in 2007 and 2008.

Finnell says he got to know Hasan in an environmental health class. At the end of the class, students gave presentations. Finnell says other classmates wrote on subjects such as dry cleaning chemicals and mold in homes, but Hasan's topic was whether the war against terror was "a war against Islam." Finnell described Hasan as a "vociferous opponent" of the terror war.

Finnell says Hasan told classmates he was "a Muslim first and an American second." 

In an interview with The Washington Post, Hasan's aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, Va., also said he had been harassed about being a Muslim in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and he wanted out of the Army.

"Some people can take it and some people cannot," she said. "He had listened to all of that and he wanted out of the military."

She said he had sought a discharge from the military for several years, and even offered to repay the cost of his medical training.

In July, the Army reassigned Major Hasan to Fort Hood. Hasan's cousin told Fox News it was in Texas the descendant of Palestinian immigrants was allegedly harassed for his religion.

"It was the harassment that I think was what got to him," Nader Hasan said. "Him being referenced from his Middle Eastern ethnicity, even though he was born and raised here and went to high school in Northern Virginia." 

Neighbors who live next door to Hasan's family in Falls Church were surprised.

"He's our neighbor. Great guy, very respectful. We're shocked about what happened and that's really all I have to say," said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified. 

Hasan recently was involved in a spat with another Fort Hood soldier residing in his apartment complex, apparently related to his Muslim beliefs.

The manager of the complex, John Thompson, said the other soldier, John Van de Walker, allegedly keyed Hasan's car and also removed and tore up a bumper sticker that read "Allah is Love." Thompson said Van de Walker had been in Iraq and was upset to learn that Hasan was Muslim.

A report filed with Killeen police on Aug. 16 indicates that Hasan's vehicle, a 2006 Honda Civic, had been scratched by an unknown object causing an estimated $1,000 worth of damage. The report indicates that Van de Walker, 30, was arrested on Oct. 21 and charged with criminal mischief. The matter has been referred for prosecution, according to the report. 

Alice Thompson, another manager at the apartment complex, said he'd been living there since mid-August. Thompson said she didn't talk to him other than to say hello in passing. Thompson said he always answered her "How are you?" with "I am blessed." 

A military official told The Associated Press that Hasan was in the preparation stage of deployment, which can take months. The official said Hasan had indicated he didn't want to go to Iraq but was willing to serve in Afghanistan. The official did not have authorization to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A second military official said Hasan's family has Palestinian roots. There have been reports that he was harassed for his Muslim religion, but the official says there is no indication Hasan filed a complaint within the military about that.

Surveillance video from a Fort Hood convenience store shows Major Hasan just hours before the deadly shooting. The store owner says he was a regular who came in for coffee and hashbrowns most every morning. The store owner described Maj. Hasan as a devout Muslim and often spoke about his concern that he would be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and face confrontation with another Muslim.

"Apparently he became very disgruntled in the mission in Iraq and Afghanistan and voiced that to a lot of his colleagues," said Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas.

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case.

Federal authorities seized Hasan's computer Friday during a search of his apartment in Killeen, Texas, said a U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. 

The Army is hesitant to pinpoint a motive for this attack to say why the suspect, a man who vowed to serve and protect, allegedly turned on his brothers and sisters in uniform.

Hasan's neighbor William Roberts says it's an unbelievable tragedy that took the lives of good servicemen and women, and is now ruining the lives of his neighbors.

"Feel bad for everybody involved," William Roberts said. "Just a terrible story."

Hasan's family said in a statement Friday that his alleged actions were "despicable and deplorable" and don't reflect how the family was raised.

Kim Fuller, a spokeswoman for Nidal Malik Hasan's family says relatives in Northern Virginia are reaching out to law enforcement Friday to offer insight. Authorities have said Hasan is suspected in Thursday's mass killings at Fort Hood military base in Texas.

Hasan's family said in a statement Friday that his actions don't reflect how they were raised in the U.S. Military officials are still trying to piece together what may have pushed the 39-year-old Army psychiatrist, trained to help soldiers in distress, to turn on his comrades.

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