President Trump has approved Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recommendation to execute Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, by U.S. Army firing squad, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 after a court-martial that found him responsible for killing 13 people and wounding 32. The Secretary of the Army will determine the time and place, and the case proceeds under military justice rather than the civilian federal death-penalty system. A firing-squad execution would be the first Army use of that method in more than 80 years.
Trump Approves Firing-Squad Execution for Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Malik Hasan
Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo
President Donald J. Trump has approved Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recommendation to execute Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, by U.S. Army firing squad, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced.
Hasan was convicted at a 2013 court-martial for the attack at Fort Hood, Texas, in which he killed 13 people and wounded 32 others inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center as troops prepared for deployment. He was sentenced to death in 2013.
"Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009. He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack."
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 5, 2026
According to Parnell, the Secretary of the Army will set the time and place for the execution. Hasan's case is being handled under the military justice system rather than the civilian federal death-penalty process.
Context And Legal Background
In April 2026, then-acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Justice Department had expanded the methods available for federal executions to include firing squads, electrocution, and gas asphyxiation. Those changes applied to the civilian federal system; military capital cases follow the Uniform Code of Military Justice and separate procedures.
If carried out, a firing-squad execution for Hasan would be historically notable: the last U.S. Army firing-squad execution was Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik in January 1945, who was executed for desertion in World War II. The U.S. military's most recent execution was in 1961, when Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth after a conviction for rape and attempted murder.
Hasan's case may involve additional procedural and legal steps, including appeals and administrative review within the military justice system. Officials have not announced a date or location.
What To Watch For
- Formal scheduling by the Secretary of the Army for time and place
- Potential legal appeals or clemency petitions from Hasan's defense team
- Reactions from victims' families, advocacy groups, and legal observers about method and precedent
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