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Hasan Akbar (born Mark Fidel Kools), a 1997 UC Davis alum and Army sergeant, was arrested in a much publicized March 23, 2003 incident in which he ambushed his own Army officers by rolling grenades into tents and firing his pistol. He killed two officers and wounded 14 others.
The attack occurred at the Army 101st Division's 1st Brigade at Camp Pennsylvania at 1:30am in Kuwait, three days after the invasion of Iraq. He reportedly committed the acts out of resentment of his fellow soldiers, and not, as some speculated because of his conversion to Islam, as a protest against the war.
He was sentenced to death on April 28, 2005, the first US soldier to have been given the death penalty and to be charged with fragging (killing your own officer) during wartime since the Vietnam War.
He kept a low profile while at UC Davis, enrolling as Mark Fidel Kools, and graduating with two degrees in aeronautical science and mechanical engineering. His former roommates said he was studious and religiously devout. He left school with his current name. He was a regular worshipper at the Islamic Center of Davis (reference: The McAdam Report).
