Bronx Native Recalls Fort Hood Massacre

FORT HOOD, Texas -- A Bronx native yesterday recalled how he followed bloodthirsty Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan after his rampage to try to help take him down -- and wound up watching over the murderer when he was shot.

Army Sgt. James McLeod, 41, said he was in a room in a building next to where the gunfire broke out when he looked outside to see Hasan pass by after he had unleashed his carnage Thursday.

McLeod, who grew up on the Grand Concourse and is married with two kids, then followed Hasan outside, where the gunman was confronted by courageous local cop Sgt. Kimberly Munley.

AP /CRAZED: Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was trailed by Bronx-born Sgt. James McLeod (above) after massacre.

"I followed him out, and he went to the right, and I followed," McLeod told The Post.

"[Munley] was on the left side, and they exchanged gunfire."

"When they started shooting between each other, I was maybe 10 feet away when they were exchanging fire," McLeod said.

"[Munley] was hit, and she backs up. She shot him, then he shot her. Then the other male officer engages him."

Despite her wounds, Munley still managed to radio for her own backup, according to the McLeod.

"When she went down, she grabbed her radio and said 'Officer down!' " McLeod said. "[Hasan] was unconscious, but he was breathing."

Once the shooting ended, Hasan was handcuffed, and soldiers rushed to help the wounded Munley.

"Once he was down, they said, 'They got him, he's down!' I ran over to where the male officer was, and he handcuffed [Hasan]," McLeod said.

"I went over, and I stood over the weapons. I had my foot on [Hasan]. He was unconscious, but he was breathing."

McLeod, who works in combat-stress control, was conducting motor-skill tests when gunfire broke out in a neighboring building.

Not long after they locked the doors, McLeod said, he hid in a utility closet.

"I was standing where I could see him but he couldn't see me," McLeod said. "I stood in a utility closet, and I grabbed a piece of metal and I told the civilian, 'If he comes around the corner, I think I can hit him.' I was standing in the utility closet waiting and he just ran past."