EL-BIREH, West Bank (AFP) - A distant West Bank cousin of the army psychiatrist accused of a deadly shooting spree in Texas said on Saturday he was bewildered by the incident.

"We are an ordinary family that has not known violence or religious intolerance," said Mohammed Hasan, who does not know his cousin and alleged shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

Nidal Hasan was born in the United States to parents who emigrated from a village outside Jerusalem and still has distant family in the area.

Mohammed Hasan said "we did not know him and we never met him. He was born in the United States and we heard that he was a good man."

Nidal Hasan, 39, allegedly killed 13 people and wounded 30 at Fort Hood, from where he was about to deploy to Afghanistan against his wishes.

He was shot and wounded by a police officer during the attack and has been moved to a military hospital.