Pentagon approves firing-squad execution for Fort Hood attacker Nidal Hasan
The Pentagon has confirmed that former US Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan is to be executed by firing squad, after President Donald Trump approved the method for the man convicted over the 2009 Fort Hood attack in Texas. The decision marks a significant new step in a long-running military justice case that has remained under close scrutiny for years. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding dozens more in one of the deadliest attacks ever carried out on a US military base.
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Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the execution method was recommended by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and approved by the president. He added that the Secretary of the Army will decide the time and place of the execution. Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 after a military jury found him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder, and military executions remain extremely rare in the United States.
If carried out, it would be the first US military execution in more than 60 years. The case has wider significance because it sits at the intersection of military discipline, capital punishment and the handling of mass violence on a military installation. The Fort Hood shooting took place in a medical facility where soldiers were waiting for check-ups and vaccinations, and the attack killed 12 unarmed active-duty soldiers and a retired serviceman, while 32 others were wounded.
Hasan was arrested at the scene after being shot and left partially paralysed, and he later told the court-martial that he acted to stop soldiers from going to Afghanistan and killing Muslims. The approval also highlights the unusual status of the firing squad as an execution method in the US military system. The Trump administration added firing squad, gas asphyxiation and electrocution as permitted methods in April, and military executions can only proceed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with presidential approval.
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The case is therefore not only about Hasan's sentence, but also about how the military and federal authorities apply capital punishment in a system where such executions are exceptionally rare. The Fort Hood attack has remained a reference point in debates over security at military bases and the treatment of service members accused of mass violence. Hasan, a US citizen of Palestinian descent, was set to deploy to Afghanistan weeks after the shooting, adding to the case's long-standing prominence in military and legal discussions.
The attack is still regarded as the deadliest non-combat assault on an American military base, and the sentence has continued to move through the military justice process for more than a decade. What remains unclear is the exact date and location of the execution, which will be set by the Secretary of the Army. It is also not yet clear whether further legal challenges or appeals could delay the sentence.
The case will now be watched for any additional procedural steps before the military can carry out what would be a highly unusual execution.
The Pentagon has announced that former US Army major Nidal Malik Hasan will be executed by firing squad, in what would be the first military execution of that kind since the end of World War Two. Hasan was convicted over the 2009 attack at Fort Hood in Texas, where he fatally shot 13 unarmed soldiers and injured 32 others. The decision marks a major new step in a case that has remained one of the most serious mass shootings on a US military base.
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Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on social media that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made the recommendation and President Donald Trump approved it. Parnell said the Secretary of the Army will determine the time and place of the execution. Hasan is currently one of four inmates on the US military's death row, and military law requires presidential approval as well as appellate review before an execution can proceed.
Hasan was found guilty by a jury panel of 13 officers on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. The panel unanimously recommended the death sentence. During his court-martial in 2013, Hasan said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan, and he later admitted in court that he was the gunman and apologised for what he called "any mistakes".
The attack on 5 November 2009 took place in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers were waiting for check-ups and vaccines. The case carries wider significance because military executions are rare in the United States and the firing squad is an unusual method. The military death penalty was ruled unconstitutional by the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in 1983, but it was reinstated the following year by executive order under President Ronald Reagan.
Most executions in the country are carried out at state level, while the military and federal government still retain capital punishment as a legal option. The Fort Hood shooting remains the deadliest non-combat attack ever carried out on an American military base. It also continues to shape debate around military justice, the death penalty and the handling of violent crimes committed by service members.
The approval announced on Monday does not by itself complete the process, however, because further legal steps are still required before the sentence can be carried out. What remains unclear is the timing of the execution and whether any further appeals will affect the case. The Secretary of the Army has yet to announce the location and date, and the legality of the sentence still has to clear the remaining review process.
The case is now moving into its final phase, with attention on whether the military will proceed with the first firing-squad execution in more than 60 years.
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