Neighbor: 'Nice' Fort Hood Suspect Tried to Give Away Possessions Before Rampage

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," November 10, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Well, did political correctness pave an easy path for murder? Why didn't someone stop him? New information tonight about the accused Ft. Hood shooter. Were there major warning signs the suspect was an Islamic extremist, and worse, one with a grudge? The Washington Post has obtained a copy of a presentation the suspect unleashed in 2007, and it contains rather frightening clues.

Joining us live is Carrie Johnson, Washington Post Justice Department reporter. Good evening.

CARRIE JOHNSON, WASHINGTON POST: Hi.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, so what is this slide show that you're reporting on?

JOHNSON: Yes, my colleague, Dana Priest, obtained exclusively the slideshow. It's a 50-slide Powerpoint presentation that the suspect, Mr. Hasan, gave to colleagues at Ft. Reed back in June 2007. It talks about Muslims in America and in the armed forces, and then more dauntingly, talks about concepts like jihad, holy war and clues to Muslims who might want to get out of the military, lest they cause adverse consequences or dire consequences.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, now, you can report things like jihad and discuss them and it can be totally non-inflammatory, or it could be signs that there's something amiss. Did the people in the room, the people at the presentation, did they find it in any way suspicious?

JOHNSON: The Post reporting bears out that some the senior doctors in the room were a little unsettled by this presentation because it was supposed to be on a medical topic of the doctor's choosing. And instead, he launched into an exploration of the Koran. But it's not entirely clear how far up the chain of command they complained or what they did about their unsettling feelings back in those days.

VAN SUSTEREN: You know, in introducing it, I talked about political correctness. Was there any sort of -- in your reporting, has anyone -- for The Post -- has anyone been -- has there been any report that anyone felt uncomfortable challenging what he said because of a respect for his religion or for any other reason?

JOHNSON: There is an undertone of that, or a minor element, but nobody is showcasing that, from the administration and the investigators conducting this ongoing probe to the doctors at Walter Reed and elsewhere.

VAN SUSTEREN: Anything that he said in that presentation that might even be -- might be perceived as being threatening?

JOHNSON: Not explicitly incitement to violence, but he did talk about suicide bombings and other consequences of wrestling with Islam in a way where the military was engaged in ongoing battles against Muslim countries and making it very uncomfortable for Muslim soldiers.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. So you have the incident of the presentation, which many might find, you know, very peculiar or suspicious, especially in light of the fact that this was not the presentation that people expected. You've also got e-mails.

JOHNSON: Right.

VAN SUSTEREN: What are the e-mails that The Post is reporting on?

JOHNSON: The investigators have not released the contents of the e- mails. But we know about at least 20 e-mails between Mr. Hasan and a guy named Anwar al Awlaki, who's a Muslim cleric currently in Yemen, but he's been branded by U.S. authorities as a person who's incited many people to violence in Britain, Canada and in the United States in the past.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. I know you're a reporter so you're just reporting the facts. I'm not going to put you on the spot. But I mean, all these things are so incredibly -- I mean, when you see -- when you see these things and look at them, they're startling that no one seems to have done anything. No one seems to have stepped in and stopped -- no one -- is there anywhere in your reporting that anyone in the military thought, Wait, let's take a look at this guy, or let's not -- let's evaluate more before we promote him to major, anything at all?

JOHNSON: That's a subject of ongoing review both by journalists and the Army and the FBI itself.

VAN SUSTEREN: But so far, nobody has said -- nobody -- no one, as far as you know, or at least in your investigation, your reporting, has stepped forward and thought, This is -- this is one strange situation and maybe we better take a look at it?

JOHNSON: Well, we have had people tell us this is one strange situation, but it never rose to the level of the highest authorities in the military. And Hasan himself never sought conscientious objector status, something he had raised as a possibility with his family. But he never went that far with the Army brass.

VAN SUSTEREN: What do you know about his family? I mean, is he a single man?

JOHNSON: He's a single man. He is 39 years old. Imams at local mosques have told us he has long wanted a Muslim bride, but he has never been able to find one. And some of his relatives and friends have told us that he's just a very picky guy. And so the sense that's emerging of him is a psychological portrait of a guy who was very lonely and would go home at night after hours of hearing military veterans and some of their dire psychological portraits and maybe be on the computer all night long, corresponding with like-minded individuals.

VAN SUSTEREN: How about people that he treated as a psychiatrist? Anyone stepped forward and said, This is, like -- you know, this guy was -- there was something wrong with this guy?

JOHNSON: Greta, you know...

VAN SUSTEREN: I don't mean -- I mean something criminally wrong?

JOHNSON: Yes. No, Greta, it's very interesting because authorities are telling us his performance records dating back as far as 10 years are solid. But some of his colleagues at Walter Reed have reported that they felt uncomfortable around his interactions with patients and they felt he wasn't really responding to patients' needs or taking notes.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, I'm sure you'll be reporting, doing more on it. Thank you very much, Carrie.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: "On the Record," of course, is on the ground in Texas, digging for clues about the accused Ft. Hood killer. "OTR" -- "On the Record" -- producer Justin Wells spoke to the suspect's neighbor. The neighbor says Hasan gave her some items on the day of the shootings. What were they? You will not see this anywhere else.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUSTIN WELLS, FOX PRODUCER: How did you first hear about it when you heard there was such a tragedy at Ft. Hood?

PATRICIA VILLA, NEIGHBOR: Well, actually, I wasn't home. I was with my daughter. And we seen all those cops around here. And I go, What in the world happened, you know? And then I seen Miss Brown (ph) and she was, Well, it was your -- how did she say it? It was your neighbor. I go, What? I could not believe it.

WELLS: And you knew then that...

VILLA: Well, I thought (INAUDIBLE) him a good person because he had gave me all the things.

He told me if I wanted three bags of vegetables, three shelves (ph), four seats, a microwave and two hanger clothes-- I don't know how you call them, rack? He saw that I didn't have nothing in my apartment, so he told me -- I wanted some things because he was moving out.

WELLS: They had his name on them or something?

VILLA: One of the suits he used to wear. He told me that if I wanted to read his Bible, that he had taken one but in Spanish. And I told him that I didn't know how to read Spanish, that only English. So the next day, on Wednesday, he gave me an English Bible.

WELLS: What's happened with all the things he gave you now?

VILLA: I have it. I still have it. I guess the FBI wanted to talk to me regarding those things, but I haven't talked to them.

WELLS: When he came over, did he just -- that's his apartment there. And you're next door.

VILLA: Yes.

WELLS: Did he just knock on the door? What did he...

VILLA: Yes.

WELLS: He just kept bringing things, right?

VILLA: He told me if I wanted some chairs. I told him yes. So he brought me the chairs. He had three shelves, that if I wanted them. I told him yes. And then he told me, Well, I have this and I have this. You want them? I don't want you to throw them away. If you don't want them, give them to the Salvation Army.

He seems like a nice person. I go, yes, but he made a mistake.

WELLS: From everything you've heard and from knowing him, did it seem like it was his -- did he seem like a fanatical religious person or no?

VILLA: Yes. I think probably he was all into his religion.

WELLS: Looking back, though, is there anything you think, like, I didn't notice that before, but maybe there was something in his head that was off or something? I just -- now I realize it, but I never would have thought of it before, when you see a person walking down the street.

VILLA: Well, no because, I mean, you see the person normal. I mean, I don't know what he was thinking or -- you know? For me, he's still a nice person because he helped me out a lot because I didn't have anything in my apartment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Content and Programming Copyright 2009 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC, which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.