Military official: Lead Ft. Hood shooting prosecutor secured death penalty in similar ‘05 case

Official: Lead prosecutor named in Fort Hood case

FORT HOOD, Texas — A senior military official in Washington says the lead prosecutor in the Fort Hood shooting case will be a man who secured the death penalty in a similar case four years ago.

The official told The Associated Press on Friday that Col. Michael Mulligan will head the prosecution of Maj. Nidal Hasan (nih-DAHL’ hah-SAHN’). The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 Texas Army post shooting.

Mulligan prosecuted a 2005 case in which Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for a 2003 attack on comrades in Kuwait that left two dead and 14 wounded.

Authorities haven’t said if they’ll seek the death penalty in the Fort Hood case.

(This version CORRECTS that the 2003 attack happened in Kuwait, not Iraq.)