CHICAGO, Dec 17 Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, who has been charged in a deadly shooting spree last month at Fort Hood, Texas, has been moved out of intensive care, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Hasan, who was shot in the chest by a police officer during the Nov 5 rampage at the sprawling military base, will likely never walk again.

“He's permanently paralysed from the upper chest area down,” Hasan's civilian attorney, John Galligan, said.

“He still has significant collateral issues... he's an invalid.”

Galligan has asked the army to move Hasan to a hospital closer to his office near Fort Hood so that he can more easily meet his client.

Hasan remains under guard at an army medical centre in San Antonio, 190 kilometres away.

The Pentagon has launched an elaborate investigation into the shootings to determine whether warning signs were missed and to prevent such an assault from happening again.

Hasan is being investigated for links to Muslim militants, including his contacts with a radical cleric who blessed the killing spree.

He faces 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder.

Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed in the attack. Another 42 people were wounded. —AFP