Fort Hood Survivor Vows to Witness Shooter's Execution

Retired Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot multiple times, including in the head, during the 2009 Fort Hood terrorist attack, has stated his intention to witness the execution of the perpetrator, Nidal Malik Hasan. President Donald Trump has approved Hasan's execution by firing squad, a decision Lunsford believes will bring closure to survivors and families of the 13 victims.

"You live by the sword, you die by the sword," Lunsford said in an interview. "And the way that he went about doing his deed was a coward's way because we didn't have any way to defend ourselves that day."

Hasan, a former Army major, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding over 30 others in the 2009 attack, where he opened fire on unarmed soldiers and civilians while shouting "Allahu Akbar." Lunsford, who is 6-foot-9, was one of the many injured in the shooting.

Lunsford explained that attending the execution serves two purposes: to allow families of the deceased and survivors to close a chapter, and to send a message that such acts will not be tolerated within the U.S. military or the nation. He reflected on the lasting impact of the attack, noting that holidays are never the same for those affected, with victims' families never again able to share such occasions with their loved ones.

"For the survivors, even though we can still do those, celebrate those holidays, we still feel for those ones that we lost that day," Lunsford stated. "Me personally, the holidays will never be the same for me. But what I can do for the ones that I lost that day is to live for them and to keep fighting so that we will never have this happen again."

Hasan is currently on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. If carried out, his execution would mark the first by the U.S. military since 1961, and the first use of a firing squad for an execution by the military since 1945. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed Trump's approval on X, formerly Twitter, stating, "Judgment day for Hasan has finally come."

The execution is scheduled to take place on December 3, 2026, at Fort Hood, Texas, the site of the original attack, according to acting Army Secretary Adam Telle.