The devout Muslim army psychiatrist was in a coma and on life support yesterday after being shot four times.

Civilian police officer Sgt Kimberly Munley took Hasan down despite being shot in both legs in the process.

The mum-of-one’s actions saved many more lives and she was hailed a hero last night.

Fort Hood base spokesman Lieutenant General Bob Cone said: “She walked up and basically engaged him.

“I think, certainly, this could’ve been far worse.

“It was very fortunate that she had been trained in active response scenarios like this.

“Often you circle the building and wait for back-up.

“But the thinking is if you act aggressively and take out the shooter, you have less fatalities.

“She happened to catch him as he walked around the corner and she engaged in gunfire.

“It was an amazing and aggressive performance. Her efforts were superb.”

Kimberly’s biography on social networking site Twitter says: “I live a good life, a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone’s life.”

Before the hero cop arrived, Hasan - armed with two non-military issue pistols, including a semi-automatic - had entered a section of Fort Hood used to prepare soldiers for deployment overseas.

Within minutes, 12 soldiers and a civilian at the base were dead or dying in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the US.

At least 30 others were injured in the attack, described by President Barack Obama as a”horrific outburst of violence”.

Soldiers rushed to treat their wounded colleagues by ripping their uniforms into makeshift bandages. Around half of those injured needed surgery.

The shootings began on Thursday at around 1.30pm local time. Hours before the massacre, Hasan was captured on CCTV wearing Muslim dress and grinning as he stood in a grocery store.

A worker at the 7-Eleven store said: “He looked normal, came in and had his hash browns and coffee as usual.”

Clutching a take-away coffee, Hasan then headed for Fort Hood to commit mass murder.

Hasan cleaned out his apartment and left a message saying goodbye to a friend,Willie Bell, in the days before the rampage.

Bell’s girlfriend Jacqueline Harris, 44, said: “He just wanted to thank Willie for being a good friend and thank him for being there. That was it. We thought it was just a nice message.”

Another neighbour, Patricia Villa, said the killer came over to her apartment on Wednesday and Thursday and offered her some items, including a new Koran, saying he was going to be deployed on Friday.

Yesterday, soldiers at Fort Hood - the US’s largest military base - were observing a day of mourning.

Meanwhile, investigators were trying to establish the motive behind the attack. General Cone said Hasan was not known to be a threat or risk.

But retired colonel Terry Lee, who worked with Hasan, claimed the major was anti-war and argued with comrades who supported operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Hasan worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre.

While he was an intern there, he had some “difficulties” that required counselling and extra supervision. He received a “poor” performance evaluation. Hasan, 39, from Virginia, was also due to be sent to Afghanistan - something family members said would have been his “worst nightmare”.

Defence sources said Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials at least six months ago because of internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats.

They included posts which compared suicide bombers with soldiers who threw themselves on grenades to save comrades’ lives.

Investigators were not certain whether Hasan had written the posts and a formal probe had not been opened before the shooting.

Hasan was shot four times on Thursday and was being treated in hospital under armed guard yesterday.

General Cone said he was unconscious and on a ventilator, but added: “I would say his death is not imminent.”

Federal law-enforcement agents ordered an evacuation of the apartment complex where Hasan lived in Killeen, near Fort Hood, and searched his home. Warrants were drawn up to authorise the seizure of his computer.

Hasan’s relatives are said to have Palestinian roots.

They said his actions were “despicable and deplorable” and did not reflect how the family were raised.

Hasan is single with no children.

In 1997, he graduated with a degree in biochemistry from Virginia Tech, scene of a mass shooting in 2007.

His cousin, Nader Hasan, described him as “a good American”.

He said the family were shocked by the shootings, adding: “We just found out on the news that he was being deployed - he never even told us.

“We’ve known for the last four or five years that that was probably his worst nightmare.

“He deals with stories, he would tell us how he would hear things, horrific things.”

Nader said his cousin had complained of being harassed by others in the military.

Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Maryland, confirmed that the soldier was a lifelong Muslim and attended prayers regularly - often in his US Army uniform.

Last night, US authorities released pictures of six of Hasan’s victims. They were named as Jason Dean Hunt, 22, Amy Krueger, 29, Aaron Nemelka, 1 9 , Michael Pearson, 21, Russell Seager, 51, and Francheska Velez, 21.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent President Obama a message of support and condolence yesterday.

He said: “My thoughts are with the families and friends of those killed or injured and with you as you find the strength and words to help America respond.”

Obama ordered federal buildings to fly the Stars and Stripes at half-mast until Veterans’ Day on November 11 as a tribute to the dead.

He said: “We don’t know all the answers. I would caution against jumping to conclusions until we have the facts.

“What we do know is that there are families, friends and an entire nation grieving right now for the valiant men and and women who came under attack in the worst mass shooting to take place on an American military base.”

At age 15, she was a petite, attractive blonde who lived in an upper-class suburb of Detroit, sang in the Catholic Church choir every Sunday and was determined to remain a virgin until marriage.

Then an older student gave her a drug-laced Coke and raped her while she was semiconscious.

“I was devastated,” she said Thursday at a conference on child sex-trafficking at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center.

That was the beginning of a two-year nightmare in which she was forced into prostitution through fear, threats and intimidation.

“I became a middle-class sex slave to these men. I was told, ‘I own you,’ ” she said.

“They threatened me every day,” she said. “They always knew where I was.”

They followed her home from school. They called her several times a week to meet with clients.

Ashamed, terrified and confused, she told no one.

Flores escaped when her father, an executive with General Electric, was transferred to Connecticut after her junior year.

Fearing for her life, she never reported the ordeal to authorities.

She went on to become a clinical social worker.

She kept silent for 25 years.

She has now committed her life to exposing human trafficking.

Flores wrote a book, “The Sacred Bath: an American Teen’s Story of Modern Day Slavery.”

“My mission is telling my story. This is how I can get back at them, and save other girls,” she said.

Mark Elam is director of Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans, which sponsored the conference along with ORU, United Way of Central Oklahoma, FBI Victims Service Division, and several churches and social service organizations.

Elam said human-trafficking is second to drug dealing as the most lucrative black-market enterprise in the world, and is expected to surpass drug dealing soon.

He said Americans think Asian nations are the primary child sex-traffickers, but the United States has become the No. 1 destination point for child sex-trafficking. An estimated 300,000 American minors enter the industry each year. The demand is highest for white, educated, middle-class children age 13 to 14.

Oklahoma is a pipeline state, he said, and indicators suggest the state ranks seventh to 10th in child sex-trafficking nationally.

Oklahoma was the only state with children found in all three major FBI sting operations conducted under the “Innocence Lost” program, he said.

Special Agent Jim Windsor, founder of the FBI Human Trafficking Task Force in Oklahoma City, said one of the biggest U.S. child prostitution cases involved more than 30 young girls, most of them Oklahomans, working truck stops in Oklahoma City.

“A lot of organized crime rings are realizing there’s money in prostitution,” he said.

The operation spanned 36 cities and led to the recovery of 52 children who were being victimized through prostitution. Additionally, nearly 700 others, including 60 pimps, were arrested on state and local charges.

“Child prostitution continues to be a significant problem in our country, as evidenced by the number of children rescued through the continued efforts of our crimes against children task forces,” said Kevin Perkins, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “There is no work more important than protecting America’s children and freeing them from the cycle of victimization. Through our strategic partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies, we are able to make a difference.”

Task Force operations usually begin as local actions, targeting such places as truck stops, casinos, street “tracks,” and Internet Web sites, based on intelligence gathered by officers working in their respective jurisdictions. Initial arrests are often violations of local and state laws relating to prostitution or solicitation. Information gleaned from those arrested often uncovers organized efforts to prostitute women and children across many states. FBI agents further develop this information in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and file federal charges where appropriate.

To date, the 34 Innocence Lost Task Forces and Working Groups have recovered nearly 900 children from the streets. The investigations and subsequent 510 convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple 25-years-to-life sentences and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets.

“It is repugnant that children in these times could be subjected to the great pain, suffering, and indignity of being forced into sexual slavery for someone else’s profit,” said Assistant Atty. Gen. Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, “but Cross Country IV has shown us that the scourge of child prostitution still exists on the streets of our cities. The FBI, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and all the state and local law enforcement agencies that contributed to this operation are to be commended for their dedication to this cause. We will all continue to work tirelessly to end the victimization of innocent children.”

In the spring of 2003, the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Department of Justice’s CEOS and NCMEC, formed the Innocence Lost National Initiative to address the growing problem of children forced into prostitution.

“Child trafficking for the purposes of prostitution is organized criminal activity using kids as commodities for sale or trade,” said Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “These kids are victims. They lack the ability to walk away. This is 21st century slavery. We are proud to have worked hand-in-hand with the FBI and Justice Department in a partnership that is unprecedented, historic, and working.”

This program brings state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers all from around the country to NCMEC, where the groups are trained together. In addition, CEOS has reinforced the training by assigning prosecutors to help bring cases in those cities plagued by child prostitution.

After Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced murder charges against the woman Tuesday, Joe Dickes, one of Hinojosa’s neighbors who tried to save the youngsters during the early Friday blaze, said that behavior began to make sense.

“I’m happy as hell she got charged,” said Dickes, who said Hinojosa didn’t immediately tell neighbors the other two children were still inside.

Hinojosa, 29, faces two counts each of first- and second-degree murder, as well as arson. She faces up to life in prison if convicted on the murder charges. The arson charge is a 20-year felony.

Hinojosa’s attorney, Michael Granzeier, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Worthy wouldn’t spell out a suspected motive or say why investigators believe Hinojosa started the fire, but said the suspect set the blaze and knowingly left 3-year-old Alayna and 4-year-old Anthony inside.

“As a mother, it is extremely distressing to think of innocent children screaming out as their bodies burned in the fire,” Worthy said.

Mom in hospital after charges in fire

Hinojosa set her boyfriend’s mobile home ablaze, grabbed their 1-year-old child and ran out the door — leaving two of her other children behind to die, authorities said.

The children still inside screamed and cried for help. Neighbors tried in vain to reach them. Quickly, they were overcome by the smoke, soot and flames.

That’s the scene described Tuesday by authorities as Worthy announced murder charges against Hinojosa, 29, of Huron Township.

“This should send chills up the spine of every person,” Worthy told reporters. “I can’t imagine the abject horror of the last seconds of their young lives.”

While in police custody, Hinojosa ingested an alcohol substance and was being treated Tuesday at a local hospital, said Worthy, who would not elaborate.

Township Police Chief Gregory Hinzmann declined to say whether the alcohol ingestion was a suicide attempt. “She’s in the hospital; that’s all we can say,” he said.

Five teenagers are being held by Florida police, accused of setting a 15-year-old boy on fire in retaliation for informing officers of an attempted bicycle theft.

Michael Brewer was sedated in a Miami hospital, recovering from second- and third-degree burns over 80% of his body. Officials say that on Monday the attackers doused him with rubbing alcohol and ignited it with a cigarette lighter. The teens are charged with aggravated battery, and the 15-year-old boy who set the fire is charged with attempted murder.

Four of the suspects are 15 years old; one is 13.

Dr Nicholas Namias of Jackson Memorial Ryder Trauma Centre told the Associated Press that Brewer’s face is not badly burnt but that he is at risk of infection and could suffer organ failure in the coming months. Family members said his chest, arms and hair was scorched.

“He’s looking for a long-haul recovery,” Broward County sheriff Al Lamberti told CNN.

Family members and police said that on Sunday, Brewer reported the attempted theft of his father’s custom $500 bicycle. Fearing a confrontation, he skipped school Monday and went to visit a friend at a nearby apartment complex. Seeking revenge against Brewer for informing on the culprit, the suspects found Brewer by a swimming pool. One splashed him with rubbing alcohol and another set him ablaze with a cigarette lighter, police said.

Television footage from the scene showed scorched clothing and a fire extinguisher spread out on a green lawn.

Lamberti said the five suspects, as of now charged as adults, were identified by witnesses because they have not interviewed Brewer. He said the ringleader exhorted the others to set Brewer on fire, crying “he’s a snitch, burn him, burn him”. He described one youth as remorseful but said two others are “laughing it off”. Authorities must now determine whether they should be prosecuted as adults.

Three of the suspected attackers appeared in court yesterday. A photograph showed the young boys sitting handcuffed in court wearing khaki and green jail clothes.

ZERO TOLERANCE DOES NOT MEAN ZERO SENSE

School discipline must be firm, fair, and consistent but administered with common sense, expert says

“Most school administrators strive for firm, fair, and consistent discipline applied with good common sense. Unfortunately, in some higher-profile cases the ‘common sense’ part is missing from the equation,” according to Kenneth S. Trump, a national expert on school security and emergency preparedness.

Trump, a four-time invited Congressional expert witness on school safety who is president of National School Safety and Security Services, said students need consequences, but they must be appropriate to the context of the situation, the disciplinary and academic history of the student, age appropriateness, and related factors.

His comments followed the recent case of a Delaware 6-year-old being suspended from regular classes for 45 days for possession of a Boy Scout multi-purpose utensil which included a knife, fork, and spoon.

“The consequences for a 6-year-old bringing a Boy Scout utensil with a knife for show-and-tell should be different from a 16-year-old brining a bag of knives, guns, and other weapons with the intent to kill students and teachers. Both actions are inappropriate, but context and common sense must be factored into administrative decisions as to what the exact consequences will be,” Trump said.

Trump says schools have developed tunnel vision focus in training school administrators on how to improve test scores, but often fail to provide adequate training on discipline and school safety issues.

See Trump’s web site on zero tolerance at http://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/zero_tolerance.html

Trump is a four-time invited Congressional expert witness on school safety, security and emergency preparedness issues. He has authored two books and over 60 professional articles on K-12 school security and emergency preparedness issues. Trump has appeared on all cable and network news channels, and is quoted regularly as a school safety expert in national daily newspapers and professional publications.

EXPERT BACKGROUND AND CONTACT INFO:

Kenneth S. Trump, M.P.A., is the President of National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based national firm specializing in school security and emergency preparedness training and consulting. Ken served as a school safety officer, investigator, and youth gang unit supervisor for the Cleveland City Schools’ safety division, and as a suburban Cleveland school security director and assistant gang task force director.He has authored two books and over 60 articles on school security and crisis issues. As one of the leading U.S. school safety experts, Ken has 25 years experience in the school safety profession and has worked with school and public safety officials from all 50 states. He is one of the most widely quoted school safety experts, appearing on all national news networks and cable TV and in top market newspapers. Ken is a four-time invited Congressional witness testifying on school safety and emergency preparedness issues. For more background, see www.schoolsecurity.org/school-safety-experts/trump.html

Zachary Christie was suspended from his 1st grade class in Delaware’s Christina School District after bringing a camping utensil - a combination knife/fork/spoon - to use at lunch, prompting calls to reexamine schools’ zero-tolerance policy for bringing weapons to school, according to a New York Times report Monday.

Zero tolerance policies were instituted in many school districts across the country, at least in part due to violence at Columbine and Virginia Tech, the report notes. Their rigid enforcement is designed to eliminate the appearance of bias or discrimination on the part of school officials.

The school district’s policy is enforced “regardless of intent” and “does not take into consideration a child’s age,” reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.

But residents, and some lawmakers, are now wondering why schools can’t apply a more common-sense discretion to such instances.

“It just seems unfair,” said Zachary, who is being home-schooled while his mother, Debbie Christie, tries to fight the suspension. That involved Zachary appearing before a district disciplinary committee with his karate instructor and mother’s fiancé vouching for him as character witnesses.

“Zachary wears a suit and tie some days to school by his own choice because he takes school so seriously,” his mother said. “He is not some sort of threat to his classmates.”

Christie started a Web site, helpzachary.com, to drum up support for her son.

State Representative Teresa L. Schooley wrote the disciplinary committee, asking each member to “consider the situation, get all the facts, find out about Zach and his family and then act with common sense for the well-being of this child.”

But the strict enforcement of the policy has its supporters.

“There is no parent who wants to get a phone call where they hear that their child no longer has two good seeing eyes because there was a scuffle and someone pulled out a knife,” said George Evans, the school district board’s president.

There has been a move to give school officials more flexibility in “weapon”-related incidents. After a third-grade girl was expelled for a year after bringing in a knife to cut the birthday cake her grandmother sent in to the class, a new law was passed allowing officials to modify punishments on a case-by-case basis. But that was for expulsions, not suspensions as Zachary is faced with. Another revision to the law is being drafted to address suspensions, according to the report.