AS IF going off to war, Major Nidal Malik Hasan cleaned out his apartment, gave leftover broccoli to one neighbour and called another to thank him for his friendship - common courtesies and routines of the departing soldier.

However, he went instead on a killing spree that left 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, dead.

Hasan, 39, was due to be deployed to Afghanistan to help soldiers with combat stress, a task he had done in the United States with returning soldiers, the US Army said.

Army spokesman Cathy Abbott was uncertain when Hasan was to leave, but he was in the preparation stage of deployment, which can take months. In any event, the major was saying goodbyes and dispensing belongings to neighbours.

Mr Jose Padilla, the owner of Hasan's apartment complex, said Hasan gave him notice two weeks ago that he was moving out this week.

On Saturday, as the nation mourned, speculation swirled at Fort Hood as to whether the alleged shooter had snapped under the pressure of his job counselling thousands of war-weary troops, or was motivated by deeper convictions. US President Barack Obama on Friday warned Americans against reaching hasty conclusions about the violence. -- AP, AFP, REUTERS

Read the full report in The Sunday Times.

Read also:
Obama to attend memorial
Motive of shooter probed