Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan Sentenced to Execution by Firing Squad

The Pentagon has confirmed that former US Army major Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad, marking the first military capital punishment carried out in more than six decades. The execution is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood in Texas.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on social media that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the sentence and that President Donald Trump approved it. “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell wrote on the platform formerly known as X.

Hasan, a psychiatrist from Virginia, killed 13 soldiers and injured 32 others during a shooting at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009. The attack, which occurred in a crowded medical building where troops were awaiting check-ups and vaccines, remains the deadliest non-combat incident on an American military base.

During his 2013 court-martial, Hasan admitted to being the gunman and expressed regret for his actions, stating he apologized for any mistakes. He told the court that he believed he was acting to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

This case represents the fourth death row sentence on the US military’s books. Under military law, executions require presidential approval, appellate review, and a final judgment confirming legality. Although the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983, it was reinstated the following year via an executive order by President Ronald Reagan.

Firing squad executions are rare in the United States. South Carolina utilized the method last year, the first such execution in the US in 15 years and the state’s first ever. Other states permitting firing squad include Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah.

President Trump has been a vocal advocate for the federal death penalty. Shortly after taking office in January 2025, he signed an executive order reinstating federal executions, reversing a moratorium imposed by the Justice Department under former President Joe Biden. In that order, Trump described capital punishment as an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who commit heinous crimes against American citizens.