Fort Hood shooting suspect has strong Roanoke, Vinton ties

A smiling yearbook photograph shows the Fort Hoot shooting suspect, Nidal Hasan, from his high school days at William Fleming High School. According to a Roanoke City Schools spokeswoman, Hasan only attended William Fleming for his senior year in 1988.

According to the 1988 city directory, Hasan’s family moved into an apartment building on Lancelot Lane.  Later, his family moved to a home on Ramada Road in Vinton.

Hours after the news broke about Hasan, WSLS talked to two former neighbors who remembered playing with Hasan’s younger brother.

“Very nice people to me. They never caused no harm in the neighborhood or nothing,” said David Cook.

Those who live in the Vinton neighborhood say Hasan never seemed to want to hang out with them.

“Just goes inside and kinda kept to himself, like a loner to me,” said Cameron Garlick.

Hasan’s family also used to own the Community Grocery Store on Elm Avenue. The workers there say they don’t know Hasan. The current owner says he only crossed paths once with Hasan when he came to the store while he was in the area earlier this year.

Although the store is under new ownership, it’s been getting a lot of attention. Workers got calls from national news organizations, and one worker says the FBI came inside yesterday.

Hasan also attended Virginia Western Community College between 1990 and 1992. He earned a science degree with honors.

Perhaps a loner to some, but not what people considered dangerous.

“Shocking cause he didn’t seem like that type of guy,” said Cook.