Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, Pentagon says

Hasan killed 13 people in the 2009 attack. His execution would be the US military’s first since 1961.

President Donald Trump has approved a plan to execute convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan by a US Army firing squad, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced Monday.

Pete Hegseth recommended the execution method, and Trump approved it, Parnell said on X/Twitter.

Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 in the November 5, 2009, shooting at the Texas military base.

“The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution,” Parnell wrote, adding, “Judgment day for Hasan has finally come.”

Hegseth shared Parnell’s announcement with the comment, “Justice.” The announcement did not specify an execution date.

Hasan acknowledged shooting during military trial

Hasan was convicted in a 2013 court-martial and sentenced to death for the attack, CBS News reported.

During his trial, Hasan acknowledged that he was the shooter and claimed he had acted to protect Islamic insurgents from US military forces, according to CBS.

Hasan represented himself and clashed with his court-appointed standby attorneys, who expressed concern that he was deliberately seeking a death sentence, CBS reported.

CBS News said it had contacted Hasan’s attorney for comment.

Supreme Court declined to review appeal

Hasan petitioned the Supreme Court in 2024, arguing that the trial judge had violated his right to a public trial by excluding the public from courtroom discussions concerning his disputes with the standby attorneys.

The Supreme Court declined to take up the case in 2025, CBS News reported.

If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first by the US military since 1961, when a soldier was hanged for raping and attempting to murder an 11-year-old girl, according to CBS News.

Firing squads remain an uncommon execution method in the United States.

South Carolina carried out three firing squad executions in 2025, CBS reported, with the first ending a nationwide gap in their use dating to 2010.