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A devout Muslim, a proud American, an Arab who chose the U.S. Army as career, a soldier and a healer, Major Nidal Hasan had treated those suffering from the traumatic horrors of war, fought hard to avoid being sent to a combat zone and, then, shouting the devotional cries of a holy warrior, went on a homicidal rampage.

The emerging, albeit incomplete, portrait is of a portly, balding, middle-aged, man under intense stress and torn by irreconcilable loyalties, musing on websites about the ethics of suicide bombers and, finally, waging his own personal jihad.

Or, as some experts suggest, a man who simply broke under mounting stress rather than motivated by ideology.

Shot four times, Maj. Hasan, survived the mayhem he created. Investigators will want to know what triggered the killing spree, but the breakdowns extend far beyond the lone gunman. How did the layers on internal security fail to prevent the worst attack on American soil since Sept 11, 2001, especially when so many warnings were so evident – at least in retrospect.

Investigators have carted off Maj. Hasan's computer, took away trash and begun extensive interviews with those who knew him. Nothing links the attack to terrorist or Muslim extremist groups, although the possibility isn't being ruled out. Nor is the grim chance that Maj. Hasan's rampage was both solo and ideological.

Maj. Hasan said he was “a Muslim first and an American second,” said Dr. Val Finnell, who was a classmate in a master's program last year.

He said the army psychiatrist was a “vociferous opponent” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But his boss, Colonel Kimberly Kesling, at Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center, described him as “a quiet man who wouldn't seek the limelight” and “provided excellent care for his patients.”

Even worse – at least from the U.S. military point of view – than a single deranged gunman was the still-live possibility that Maj. Hasan didn't act alone.

Investigators were trying to determine “if there is something more than just one deranged person,” said Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. If others conspired with or aided Maj. Hasan – helping him get the two non-military but deadly semi-automatic handguns – the nightmare scenario of an Islamic cell will re-emerge.

Fragmentary reports indicate Maj. Hasan, although born in Virginia, had increasingly identified himself as a Palestinian and was seeking a devout spouse. A security-camera shot of the army psychiatrist in long, white, traditional Muslim robes buying sundries has been given huge media play as if his garb might indicate motive.

President Barack Obama, whose father and stepfather were Muslims, warned the nation against “jumping to conclusions,” but as Americans – especially those in uniform – struggled to cope with the horror of murderous betrayal by one of their own, that sort of conclusion jumping was rampant.

According to multiple eye-witnesses, Maj. Hassan, wearing his military uniform, was shouting “Allahu Akbar” – God is Great – as he pulled the trigger dozens of times, killing 13 and wounding nearly 30. But the phrase, used by Muslim in many situations, doesn't mean Maj. Hasan had morphed into a jihadist.

The major, who remains in intensive care, could be executed, if convicted on murder charges under either the military or civilian justice systems What was evident is that Maj. Hasan was fighting deployment to Afghanistan. He had even asked a military lawyer to help him get out of the army. He also claimed he was being harassed for being a Muslim.

Some experts cautioned against connecting too many dots so early.

“Typically, when you have these kinds of cases it involves someone who is under extreme stress,” said Barry Rosenfeld a professor of psychology at Fordham University. “Deploying to a war zone is stressful for anyone, far worse perhaps for someone who has a history of listening to the horror stories of those who have returned.” Maj. Hasan worked with soldiers suffering from combat stress.

Last summer he was transferred from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to Fort Hood. About the same time he apparently began posting to websites. At least someone with the same name began publicly musing about whether suicide bombers were the same as those soldiers who flung themselves on grenades to save their comrades in arms.

At least one Islamic extremist website was already claiming him as a holy warrior. It said the psychiatrist “did Jihad in that base and killed no less than 13 Crusader foreigners,” sowing “terror and chaos in the ranks of the enemy.”