Fort Hood shooter and former United States (US) Army major Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad on December 3, marking the first US military execution in more than 60 years and the first by firing squad since the end of World War Two.
Hasan killed 13 unarmed US soldiers and injured 32 others during the November 5, 2009 attack at the US Army base in Texas. The attack took place inside a crowded medical building where soldiers preparing for deployment were waiting for medical check-ups and vaccinations.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on social media on Monday that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended the execution by firing and President of US Donald Trump approved it.
The secretary of the US Army announced on Tuesday that the execution will take place at Fort Hood in Texas.
“Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell wrote on X while announcing the decision.
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist from Virginia, later admitted during his 2013 court-martial that he was the gunman. He also apologised for “any mistakes” made during the attack. During the court proceedings, Hasan said that he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The November 2009 shooting was the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base. Hasan is currently one of four inmates on the US military’s death row.
Under US military law, an execution requires approval from the president before it can proceed. The case also requires appellate review and a final judgment on the legality of the death penalty.
The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983. The death penalty was restored the following year through an executive order signed by then-US President Ronald Reagan.
Trump has supported the federal death penalty and reinstated its use through an executive order on the first day of his administration in January 2025.
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”.
