Fort Hood report criticises FBI

Both the FBI and the Defence Department had sufficient information to detect that Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a threat. Photo / Thinkstock

A Senate report on the Fort Hood shooting is sharply critical of the FBI, saying that top leaders must exercise more control over local field officers who failed to recognise warning signs that suggested the shooter was a threat.

The report concluded that both the Defence Department and the FBI had sufficient information to detect that army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a "ticking time bomb" who had been radicalised to Islamic extremism, but that they failed to understand and act on it.

Hasan is alleged to have gone on a shooting rampage in November 2009 that left 13 dead and more than 30 wounded at the Texas military post.