Ft. Hood witness recalls carnage: 'I saw Hasan start shooting'

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Under a flag flying at half-staff, a soldier salutes a memorial honoring those killed in last week’s shooting rampage at Ft. Hood. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended a service at the Army base. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at Ft. Hood. (Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images)

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Portraits of those killed in last week’s shooting at Ft. Hood. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

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Soldiers at Ft. Hood pay their respects. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Angie Hatla and her daughter, Leslie, 11, join troops at a memorial at Ft. Hood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Army Spc. Brian Hill listens to President Obama read the names of those killed in last week’s shooting rampage at Ft. Hood in Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Soldiers wait for the start of the Ft. Hood memorial service. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

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The president and first lady leave the White House, en route to Texas. (Tim Sloan / AFP/Getty Images)

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Kolleen Alldridge, left, her son Gavyn, 4, and apartment manager Alice Thompson huddle around a makeshift memorial to the shooting victims in the courtyard of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasans apartment complex. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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A neighbor of suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan lights a memorial candle outside their apartment complex for those who were killed Thursday. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Investigators with the FBI and Texas Rangers leave the shooting suspect’s apartment building after interviewing some of his neighbors. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Investigators talk with Kim Rosenthal, a neighbor of suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. She told them that she “actually liked Mr. Hasan, as he was nice and polite to all us neighbors.” (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Bob Butler helped set up a temporary memorial outside Central Christian Church in Killeen for those killed and wounded Thursday at Ft. Hood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Sgt. Jason Krawczyk visits Ft. Hood’s memorial to 1st Cavalry soldiers lost in the Iraq war. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Young visitors at the front gate of Ft. Hood show their support. “I want the soldiers to see us as a visible reminder that they are being loved and prayed for,” said a mother who brought along eight of her 10 children from Waco. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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“My heart goes out to each of the families ... “ says George Dulany Jr. while giving blood at the Ft. Hood donor center, which is normally closed on Saturdays. “This is the best way I know how to help.” (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Brothers Valiant, left, and Jeremiah Thomas, 9 and 7, take part in a demonstration of support at the gate of Ft. Hood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Sgt. Maj. Leroy Walker, center, sheds tears during a rendition of “Amazing Grace” at a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Ft. Hood shootings. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Sheldon and Nancy Rabago hold their son, Owen, as they cry during the candlelight vigil at Ft. Hood Stadium in Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Iman Syed Ahmed Ali leads Friday prayers at the Islamic Center of Greater Killeen, Texas. This is where Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan prayed five times a day. Army veteran Victor Benjamin, 30, is in white with Duane Reasoner, at far right. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Staff Sgt. Kyle Richardson holds his son Elijah richardson, 2, at Fort Hood Army Post in Ft. Hood, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, left, and Lt. Gen.Robert W. Cohen listen to Army Secretary John McHugh brief the press at Ft. Hood, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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The U.S. flag flies at half mast in front of the Army‘s III Corps headquarters at Ft. Hood, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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William Ellis, center, observes a moment of silence, with fellow soldiers at the Fort Hood Army Post in Ft. Hood, Texas. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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A U.S. flag flies at half-staff as soldiers leave a news conference at Ft. Hood Friday morning. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Col. Bill Hill, center, garrison commander, leaves Ft. Hood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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First responders wait their turn to brief reporters at an early morning news conference at Ft. Hood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Col. John Rossi, left, Col. Steven Braverman and Col. Ben Danner walk away after a news conference on the fatal shootings at Ft. Hood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Col. John Rossi addresses the media during an early morning news conference at Ft Hood. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Federal agents search the apartment of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan in Killeen, Texas. (LM Otero / Associated Press)

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Police officers confer in front of the headquarters building at Ft. Hood, where an Army psychiatrist allegedly went on a shooting rampage. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

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Daniel and Rachel Clark embrace after a news conference at Ft. Hood. (Ben Sklar / Getty Images)

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Army Sgt. Fanuaee Vea, left, embraces Pvt. Savannah Green outside Ft. Hood. (Ben Sklar / Getty Images)

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Casey Andrysiak and her son Max, 2, carry supplies for care packages that will go to relatives on the military base who are affected by the shooting. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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At a church in Killeen, Texas, Andrea Cebulski prays for those killed and wounded during the Ft. Hood shooting. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Pastor Skip Blancett prays with Madeline Baumann, 6, during a service at First United Methodist Church in Killeen, Texas, where members lit candles and prayed for the victims of the shooting. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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During morning service at First United Methodist Church in Killeen, Texas, Tom Powell rings a bell for the shooting victims. Pastor Skip Blancett, background, lights candles in their honor. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Homemade food and other supplies are prepared for people affected by the Ft. Hood shooting. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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Army Lt. Col. Pete Andrysiak lost four soldiers to the shooting. An additional 11 under his command were wounded. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Aug. 9, 2013 5:54 PM PT

FT. HOOD, Texas — Retired Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning had dreaded returning to this central Texas Army base for the first time this week to testify against the man who he says shot him and dozens of fellow soldiers back in 2009.

Manning, an Army mental health counselor from Lacey, Wash., had been mentally preparing himself for weeks to face his alleged attacker, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. He did not expect to walk away from the court hearing with closure — he says even a conviction would not right the wrong that was done that day. Manning has sued the government to classify the attack as an act of terrorism so that he and other victims will be compensated accordingly.

What Manning wanted, he said, was to remain composed. He knew Hasan had been representing himself at his court-martial, which entitled him to cross-examine Manning and other witnesses.

On Friday, Manning walked into court wearing a dark suit and accompanied by his wife, who took a seat in the gallery as he continued walking, past the defendant and onto the stand, where he locked eyes with Hasan.

Hasan’s court-martial was entering its fourth day, with graphic testimony from Manning and other victims — and the introduction into evidence of bullet fragments recovered from victims.

Hasan, 42, an Army psychiatrist, is defending himself against 13 charges of premeditated murder and 32 charges of attempted premeditated murder.

PHOTOS: Shooting at Ft. Hood

In Manning’s testimony Friday, he walked the military jury of 13 officers, all Hasan’s rank or higher, through events the day of the shooting.

Manning had been preparing for his third deployment, and was at Ft. Hood’s soldier readiness processing center for treatment when he heard someone shout “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” in Arabic.

“That’s when I saw Hasan start shooting — basically in a left-right motion, firing as fast as he can,” Manning said.

Before the military prosecutor had a chance to ask, Manning turned to face Hasan and pointed.

“He’s there.”

The prosecutor asked him to identify Hasan again, and Manning repeated the gesture.

Manning told the jury that soon after the shooting started, he felt a bullet strike his chest. He had trouble breathing. He dropped to the ground to take cover, but kept getting shot — first in his right leg, then his foot.

Manning played dead.

“I figured the shooter would finish me off if he saw that I was alive,” he said.

He felt his lungs filling with blood, and managed to flee the building. As he left, he caught sight of a body: Capt. John Gaffaney, 56, of San Diego. They had been scheduled to deploy to Iraq together.

Recalling that moment Friday, Manning faltered. But then he continued, telling jurors how many times he had been shot: six times, with one bullet narrowly missing his heart. He still has bullets lodged in his thigh and back, he said.

Finally, about 15 minutes after Manning took the stand, the moment came — would Hasan cross-examine him?

Hasan declined, as he had with many others. Manning kept his cool. He stepped down, walked past Hasan again, and left court with his wife.

Since the trial started, 44 witnesses have testified. Prosecutors originally planned to call as many as 270 witnesses, and the judge has said she expects the trial to last at least a month.

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