Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan

President Donald Trump has approved a firing squad execution for Nidal Hasan, convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on social media on Monday.

Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 others on 5 November 2009 in a medical facility at the Texas military base, carrying out what became the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base. Hasan, now 56 years old, was an Army psychiatrist holding the rank of major at the time of the shooting. The attack unfolded in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers were awaiting check-ups and vaccines, weeks before Hasan himself was set to be deployed to Afghanistan.

Conviction and motive

Hasan was convicted and sentenced to death after a 2013 court-martial, in which a military jury found him guilty of 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. He made almost no effort to defend himself during the proceedings. Hasan told a judge during the court-martial that he was motivated to defend the leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban, and said the shooting was motivated by protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Police arrested Hasan at the scene, where he was shot and left partially paralysed.

A method not used by the military since 1945

If carried out, the execution would be the first US military execution in more than 60 years, since 1961. That execution was carried out by hanging of Army Pvt. John Bennett at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The last known US military firing squad execution was in November 1945, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The Trump administration added death by firing squad as an appropriate method of execution in April 2025, along with gas asphyxiation and electrocution. Trump re-instated the federal death penalty through an executive order in January 2025, on the first day of his administration. Under Biden, the justice department had issued a moratorium on the federal use of the death penalty.

Legal pathway and next steps

The Supreme Court on March 31, 2025, denied Hasan’s petition to hear an appeal of his conviction, clearing the way for execution. Hegseth in September 2025 said he had asked Trump to approve Hasan’s execution. A military execution requires approval from the US president under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Hasan is one of four people currently on US military death row.

Parnell wrote on X: “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.” He described Hasan as the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers and said he was shouting Allahu Akbar during the attack. Hegseth retweeted Parnell’s post, writing “Justice.”