One day after Maj. Nidal Hasan reportedly gunned down more than 40 people on Fort Hood, killing 13, neighbors and co-workers say the image of a mass murderer is a stark contrast to the demure man who moved here from the East Coast in July.

If there was something sinister behind the devout Muslim's door number 9 and the drawn curtains on the second floor here at the Casa del Norte apartments, nobody noticed. He recently gave a few copies of the Muslim Holy Book, the Quran, to neighbors. And he always offered a common answer when neighbors asked how he was doing.

"We'd see him every day and ask him how he's doing," said apartment manager John Thompson, "and he'd always tell us he was blessed and he was OK."