Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan
Quick Look
- President Donald Trump has approved Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's recommendation to execute convicted Fort Hood mass shooter Nidal Hasan by U.S.
- Army firing squad.
- Hasan, 56, was sentenced to death in 2013 for the 2009 attack that killed 13 and injured 32 at the Texas military base.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, carried out a shooting spree at Fort Hood in Texas on November 5, 2009, killing 13 people and injuring 32 others. He was convicted in a 2013 court-martial and sentenced to death. Federal law requires presidential approval for execution of military death sentences.
The Pentagon on Monday evening said that President Donald Trump has approved a recommendation by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to have convicted Fort Hood mass killer Nidal Hasan executed by a U.S. Army firing squad.
Hasan, 56, would be the first person executed after a U.S. armed forces court-martial since 1961, when Army Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for the rape and attempted murder of a girl in Austria.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
Hasan, a psychiatrist, was convicted and sentenced to death after a 2013 court-martial for the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting spree that killed 13 and injured 32 others at the Army base in Killeen, Texas, while he was an Army major.
During his court-martial, Hasan told a judge that he was motivated in the shooting to defend the "leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban."
Hegseth in September 2025 said that he had asked Trump to approve Hasan's execution.
Federal law says that a person convicted through court-martial and sentenced to death cannot be executed until approved by the president.
"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," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a post on X on Monday.
"He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack," Parnell said.
The spokesman also said the secretary of the Army "will set the time and place of the execution."
"Judgement day for Hasan has finally come," Parnell wrote.
Hegseth retweeted Parnell's post, writing "Justice."
The Supreme Court on March 31, 2025, denied a petition by Hasan to hear an appeal of his conviction, clearing the way for him to be executed.
In September 2025, Hegseth told The Hill in a statement, "I am 100 percent committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan."
"This savage terrorist deserves the harshest lawful punishment for his 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood," Hegseth said at that time. "The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays."
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Hasan is one of just four people currently on death row as the result of a U.S. military court-martial.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The U.S. Army will schedule and carry out Nidal Hasan's execution by firing squad within the next 6 months.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- When and where will the execution take place?
- Will Hasan pursue further legal appeals?
- How will military and victim families respond to the execution method?
