Army: AWOL soldier admits to 2009 Fort Hood attack plan

KILLEEN, Texas -- An AWOL soldier who had weapons stashed in a motel room near Fort Hood has admitted to planning an attack on the Texas post, where 13 people died in 2009 in the worst mass shooting ever on a U.S. military installation, the Army said in an alert issued Thursday.

Pfc. Naser Abdo, a 21-year-old soldier who was granted conscientious objector status this year after he said his Muslim beliefs prevented him from fighting, was arrested Wednesday. Agents found firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder," in his motel room, according to FBI spokesman Erik Vasys.

The Army alert sent via email and obtained by The Associated Press says Killeen police arrested police after a tip from the owners of a gun shop and "was in possession of a large quantity of ammunition, weapons and a bomb inside a backpack." Upon questioning, the alert says, he admitted to planning an attack on Fort Hood.

Officials have not offered details about Abdo's possible intentions. The infantry soldier from Fort Campbell, Ky., whose hometown is Garland, Texas, applied for conscientious objector status last year. A military review board recommended this spring that he be separated from the Army.

But the discharge was delayed after Abdo was charged with possessing child pornography. Fort Campbell civilian spokesman Bob Jenkins said Abdo "was fully aware that he was being investigated for possessing child pornography since November 2010." An Article 32 military hearing last month recommended he be court-martialed; he went absent without leave during the July 4 weekend.

The military's criminal investigation division, along with the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, also investigated Abdo earlier this year after he was flagged for making unspecified anti-American comments while taking a language class in April, according to a U.S. official briefed on the investigation.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said neither the military nor the task force discovered anything at the time to indicate Abdo was planning an attack, the official said.

Making contact

James Branum, an Oklahoma lawyer who has represented Abdo, said Thursday he hadn't heard from Abdo in weeks.

"I've been quite anxious to get in touch with him," he said.

The AP was among the media outlets to interview Abdo in the past year when reporting on his request for objector status. On Tuesday, July 12, Abdo contacted an AP reporter with whom he had spoken previously, said he had gone AWOL and considered purchasing a gun for personal protection. Abdo said he had not yet done so, because he knew he would have to give his name and other information to the gun dealer.

Abdo said he had received critical emails about his conscientious objector case and was worried about his safety as an increasing number of soldiers were returning to Fort Campbell from Afghanistan.

The AP described the contents of this conversation that Thursday to a civilian Army spokesman. The next day, when contacted by Army investigators, the AP said it did not know Abdo's location and provided the telephone number from which he made his original call.