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Afghan Massacre Suspect Lived In S. Fla. For A Time

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – U.S. military officials released the name of the soldier suspected of massacring 16 Afghan civilians and it turns out, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales had lived in South Florida for a brief time.

According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, Staff Sgt. Bales lived in Doral from September 2000 to March 2001 in an office building called the Overseas Tower. Bales lived in suite 5E which is now occupied by BP Media and Partners.

The true cause of Bales' massacre may not be known for some time. Early reports said the shootings may be a result of post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the Herald, Bales posted online that he was angry about being passed over for a military promotion and that he had brushes with the law in the past and at one time spent time in anger management.

Bales pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in 2002 and was cited for a misdemeanor hit-and-run-incident in 2008.

It's believed that Bales is believed to be headed to the maximum-security prison at For Leavenworth, Kansas.

Even as more information has come out about Bales; Afghanis and Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the United States on Friday of withholding details and refusing to cooperate with Afghan investigators, according to the Herald.

The Afghan massacre has spurned more calls from the United States and Afghanistan for a more rapid pullout of troops from the country. Afghanis have burned President Obama in effigy since the massacre.

Afghani officials said Bales was a rogue soldier who went from hut to hut in an Afghan village looking for women and children to shoot, stab, and kill, according to the Herald.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Miami Herald contributed to this report.)

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