News 8
Wounded soldier faces long recovery 
11:42 PM CST on Saturday, November 7, 2009
TEMPLE, Texas — One of the surviving victims of the Fort Hood tragedy is Najee Hull, a young soldier just months away from his first tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Ironically, he was wounded before he ever left for the battlefield.
Hull's family by his side at Scott and White Hospital in Temple as he recovers.
Najee Null is only 21 years old. His brother, Nate Hull, told us Najee hasn't even been in the Army for one year. As he prepared for his first tour of duty, he became one of Nidal Hasan's first victims.
"He walked in, said something to Allah, and just shot him," Nate Hull said.
The wounded soldier told his brother he fell on the floor and tried desperately to escape.
"He said the guy kept shooting at him," Nate Hull said. "As he was crawling to a cubicle, he was shot two more times."
Najee Hull is being treated for three bullet wounds — one to his leg and two to his back.
One shot came ever so close to his heart.
"It would have killed him right away," Nate Hull said. "If it would have hit two inches above, he would have been dead."
Nate Hull is Najee's big brother. As kids, he always looked after Najee. That's what makes the tragedy even more difficult for him to accept.
"Just getting this news, it's killed us, in my heart," Nate Hull said. "That's my younger brother. You say, 'Hey, you're supposed to protect your younger brother as you grow up.' Your mother teaches you, 'Hey you! Protect your younger brother; don't let anything happen to him.' And then this happens."
Nate Hull told News 8 his brother has a long road to recovery ahead of him, but the blessing of all this is that he is among those who survived the massacre.
E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com
