Sam

She was curled up on the floor, holding her stomach. Protecting her baby. "My baby, my baby." A soldier shot beside her told the court that's what she cried. Another soldier, on the other side of a door, heard "Please don't, please don't. My baby, my baby." She was shot once in the back. Pfc. Francheska Velez was 21. She had just come home from Iraq, about 3 months pregnant, her family said. Her dad said she had "the spirit of a child." This is what Nidal Hasan did at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009. He planned it for months. He asked a gun store for "the most technologically advanced handgun on the market." He added two laser sights and 30-round magazines. He practiced headshots at 100 yards. He asked the range instructor how to reload faster. That morning he gave a neighbor his Koran and his furniture. He told another neighbor, "I'm going to do good work for God." At prayer he said goodbye. He was "going home." At about 1:34 p.m. he walked into a room full of unarmed soldiers getting ready to deploy. He sent the civilian clerk away. He yelled "Allahu Akbar" and opened fire. He covered both exits. He shot soldiers in the back as they ran. He shot people hiding under tables. Pathologists testified at least 5 were shot while lying on the ground. Spc. Frederick Greene charged him. He was shot 12 times. Michael Cahill, 62, charged him with a chair. He was shot 6 times. Pfc. Kham Xiong, father of 3, was shot twice in the head. A civilian outside asked what was happening. Hasan told him it was a training exercise. He fired more than 200 rounds. He still had 177 left when a police officer finally dropped him. 13 killed. More than 30 wounded. He wasn't hiding who he was. He emailed terrorist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki 18 times. He asked if soldiers who killed fellow soldiers would be martyrs. His slideshow at Walter Reed said "We love death more then you love life." His business cards said "SoA," Soldier of Allah. The Army knew. 2 officers called him a "ticking time bomb." He ranked in the bottom 25 percent. He got glowing evaluations and a promotion anyway. The FBI read his emails. Its review took 4 hours. Nobody interviewed him. Then the Obama Pentagon called it "workplace violence." The families waited more than 5 years for Purple Hearts. At trial he said, "The evidence will clearly show I am the shooter." He said he "switched sides." In prison he asked ISIS to make him a citizen. He was sentenced to death in 2013. Nearly 17 years after the massacre, he is still alive. His firing squad is set for Dec. 3 at Fort Hood. Do it. Fire away. Do it where he did this. And yes, let America watch. Not for him. For them: Michael Cahill. Maj. Eduardo Caraveo. Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow. Capt. John Gaffaney. Spc. Frederick Greene. Spc. Jason Hunt. Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger. Pfc. Aaron Nemelka. Pfc. Michael Pearson. Capt. Russell Seager. Pfc. Francheska Velez. Lt. Col. Juanita Warman. Pfc. Kham Xiong.