Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford Jr. is a 20 year Army veteran who was stationed last year at Fort Hood, Texas in the Soldier Readiness Center, helping prepare troops for deployment to war zones overseas and assist them on their return.

He was the first witness called in the Article 32 Hearing for Major Nidal Hasan, the lone suspect in the mass shooting at Fort Hood last November that left 13 dead (including a pregnant soldier) and 32 others wounded.

Sgt. Lunsford was one of those victims, hit five times including once in the left eye and twice through the stomach.  Lunsford says he knows who shot him because he locked eyes with Hasan right before he says Hasan pointed his laser sight at Lunsford’s head and opened fire.

Lunsford also says Hasan may have spared a life before he began taking others.

Prior to the shooting, Lunsford testified Hasan “walked up to a civilian female, said something to her, she gets up and leaves.”

Moments later, he says Hasan yelled “Allahu Akbar”, pulled a gun out from “under his top and starts firing.”

He says the first targets were members of the unit Hasan was scheduled to deploy with to Afghanistan.  Lunsford says he saw one man lift a chair over his head to try and stop Hasan and the Major turned, fired and brought the man down.  Lunsford says he was in a crouched position, then prone, searching for a way out, then decided to make a run for the exit.  When he got up he says “Major Hasan and I make eye contact, he brings his weapon over me, I see the laser cross my line of sight, I get hit in the head, turn toward the door, took two steps and dropped” to the floor.  He says the left side of his face was on the ground and he felt blood pooling around him but could still see Hasan with his right eye.  He did a “self assessment, realized I could move my hands and feet, got up and ran out the doors.”

The prosecutor asked Lunsford to describe the “rate of fire” and Lunsford knocked on the table, pausing for less than a second between knocks, making a sound like “pop pop pop pop pop pop pop”.

Lunsford was asked if he got a good look at the shooter and he testifed “very good”.

The prosecutor asked “Can you point him out?”

Sgt. Lunsford, who’s 6′ foot 9 1/2 inches tall, stood up and pointed at Nidal Hasan.

Before finishing his testimony, Lunsford was asked about his reconstructive surgery and long term disability.  “That’s not the focus, sir” he answered.  “The focus is to heal and to continue to serve.”

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