Yesterday afternoon and last night, as more and more “news” about the Ft. Hood shootings, where 13 are now confirmed dead, were released into the ether by the cable news networks, blogs, Twitter, etc., there came a point where I actually regretted working in media solely because I felt obliged to follow it all on a minute-by-minute basis. A big part of me wished that I could just tune it all out and come back to the story the next day, after the dust had settled and the facts had been separated from the rumors, as it seemed that each 5 minute cycle brought a new correction…”the shooter is dead”…”the shooter is not dead”…”there were multiple gunmen”…”there were not multiple gunmen.”

Anyway, it was maddening, but now that initial period of chaos and confusion is over and the aforementioned dust has settled and we know a lot more about Nidal M. Hasan, the asshole responsible for yesterday’s carnage.

All things considered, today’s Washington Post has a pretty amazing bio piece on the guy, filled with background information culled from discussions with Hasan’s family, friends and co-workers. Here are a few nuggets:

-Hasan’s aunt said that he endured tremendous hazing over being an Arab (He is the son of Palestinian immigrants) in the military after the 9/11 attacks.

-While he was receiving his medical training at Walter Reed treating patients returning from the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hasan spoke openly about his opposition to the country’s war efforts.

-Hasan is believed to have made postings on message boards frequented by Islamic terrorists, praising suicide bombers as brave heroes similar to Japanese kamikaze bombers.

-In a sad bit or irony, Hasan did his undergraduate work at Virginia Tech.

-Due to his religious beliefs, Hasan had trouble interacting with women, even refusing to be photographed with female co-workers for group work pictures. He also reportedly suffered through a lifetime of frustrations finding a female mate as he sought someone with deep Muslim religious convictions similar to his own while spending a large percentage of his adult life in the U.S. military.

-Hasan was an avid fan of the Washington Redskins.

-As had been previously reported, Hasan was on the verge of being deployed overseas.