Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Malik Hasan to be Executed by Firing Squad

The Pentagon has announced that former US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan will be executed by firing squad, marking the first military execution by this method since the end of World War II and the first military execution in more than 60 years. The decision, recommended by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, received approval from President Donald Trump.

Hasan was convicted in 2013 for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, where he killed 13 unarmed US soldiers and injured 32 others. A jury of 13 officers unanimously recommended his death sentence. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated on social media that the Secretary of the Army will determine the specific time and location of the execution.

During his court-martial, Hasan, a former US Army psychiatrist, admitted to being the gunman and expressed remorse for what he called "mistakes." He also stated his belief that he was acting to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Nov. 5, 2009 attack occurred in a crowded medical building on the Texas base, where soldiers were undergoing check-ups and receiving vaccinations. It remains the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military installation.

Hasan is one of four inmates currently on the US military's death row. Military executions require presidential approval, appellate review, and a final judgment on their legality. The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces had previously deemed the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983, but it was reinstated the following year by an executive order under President Ronald Reagan.

While most executions in the US occur at the state level, with 27 states, the military, and the federal government retaining capital punishment, death by firing squad is uncommon. Last year, South Carolina carried out an execution by firing squad, the state's first and the first in the US in 15 years. Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah also permit this method.

President Trump has been a proponent of the death penalty, reinstating it via executive order on his first day in office in January 2025. This action followed a moratorium on federal executions implemented by his predecessor, President Joe Biden. Trump's executive order described capital punishment as "an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens."