Soldier wounded at Ft. Hood may be coming home

FORT HOOD, Texas (STNG) -- U.S. Army Pvt. Najee Hull, of Homewood, may be heading home to recover from gunshot wounds he suffered during Thursday's shooting at a U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas, according to his mother.

"He's been too weak to be moved, but as soon as he's able, we're going to try to bring him to Illinois so we can take care of him," Yvonne Hull said Tuesday. "Everything seems to be going great."

Hull suffered three gunshot wounds and on Tuesday underwent the final round of surgery required to stop bleeding in his lungs, his mother said.

Hull, 20, has said he was the first person shot in the attack, according to his family. The attack left 13 people dead and another 29 wounded.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is accused of methodically shooting soldiers and civilians at the base's soldier readiness center.

Reached at his hospital room Tuesday, Hull's older brother Nate said his brother was too tired to talk.

"He needs rest," Nate Hull said.

Yvonne Hull, who returned home late Sunday night after visiting Najee, has been in constant phone contact with him. She said he tried to stay awake after surgery to watch the televised memorial service for those who died in the melee. President Obama attended the service.

Najee is at Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas. Army officials have told the Hull family they plan to move Najee to the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood when the private's condition improves. From there, the military may transfer him to Illinois for further rest and recovery, Yvonnne said.

Hull was shot twice in the back and once in the knee. One of the bullets went into Najee's spleen, which had to be removed, his mother said.

Najee still is heavily sedated and is using an oxygen machine.

He has wounds that will be with him the rest of his life, his mother said.

A 2007 Homewood-Flossmoor graduate, Najee earned straight As in his classes, his family said. He enrolled in Kentucky State University after high school to study engineering, and he enlisted in the Army eight months ago to help pay for his classes, his family said. He was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in early 2010.

"He still wants to go to Afghanistan and fight for our country," his mother said earlier this week. "He's very patriotic."

Najee knew several of the soldiers who died during Thursday's massacre, and he's still processing the whole experience, she said.

Tuesday's memorial service included a speech by the president, a roll call of the names of the dead and a 21-gun salute.