The Dezhou massacre charges | Grab candy

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Lunsford was the first victim to testify on Tuesday at the trial of Major Nidal Hasan, who could face the death penalty if convicted of killing 13 people and wounding dozens more at the army base in 2009 Diamond Water.

Hasan, who has fired his lawyers and is representing himself,HKUE DSE earlier gave an opening statement in which he admitted his guilt over the mass shooting.

Lunsford, now retired, was shot in the head and the body and detailed how the carnage unfolded, pointing to the seven places where Hasan's bullets left their mark on his large frame Diamond Water.

He recalled how people initially froze in shock after Hasan started to open fire on troops in a pre-Afghanistan deployment centre, before realising the shooting was premeditated.

Lunsford rushed for an exit but as he gazed back he saw a laser sight from Hasan's weapon focused on him. He blinked, and was then felled by a bullet smashing into the right side of his head. After trying to crawl away he was shot in the back, after which he decided to "play dead".

Hasan had earlier spoken only for a few minutes, telling the jury of 13 Army officers that the people he killed were casualties of war after he "switched sides."

"The evidence will clearly show I am the shooter," Hasan declared.

Paralysed from the waist down after being shot by police trying to stop the bloodbath, Hasan was calm and collected as he monitored the proceedings from his wheelchair in a green camouflage uniform .

He was sporting a thick beard responsible for delaying the trial by months as he fought to win the right to violate the military's grooming rules.

Now aged 42, Hasan was due to deploy to Afghanistan weeks after the attack. He has said he shot the soldiers to protect his fellow Muslims from an "illegal" war.

His opening statement reiterated his radical views.

"We, the mujahedeen, are imperfect Muslims trying to establish a perfect religion in the land of the supreme God," Hasan said. "I apologise for any mistakes that I made in this endeavour."

Military law prohibits Hasan from pleading guilty to a capital offence and so he has been given the opportunity to try to convince the jury that he does not deserve death for his actions.

Military judge Colonel Tara Osborn has insisted that Hasan cannot use the high-profile trial as a platform to espouse extreme views.

Osborn has also barred prosecutors from mentioning terrorism as a motive and prohibited Hasan from using a "defence of others" strategy to justify his actions.

Born in the eastern US state of Virginia to Palestinian parents , Hasan joined the Army in 1995.

Three weeks before the shooting, according to prosecutors, Hasan told a doctor: "They have another thing coming if they think they are going to deploy me."

He studied jihadist writings by Taliban leaders and wrapped ammunition magazines in paper towels so people wouldn't hear them clinking in his pockets, prosecutors said.