Trump’s Nidal Hasan Firing Squad Decision Could Mark Military History
Updated 03:20 6 Oct 2026 GMT+1Published 02:57 6 Oct 2026 GMT+1
Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and injured dozens more in a 2009 mass shooting
US President Donald Trump has approved the death by firing squad for Fort Wood mass shooter Nidal Hasan.
Hassan, a former US army major, killed 13 people and injured 30 more in the 2009 shooting at the Texas army base.
Hasan claimed he carried out the terror attack due to his anger at being deployed to Afghanistan and out of a wish to protect Islamic and Taliban leaders from US troops.
The 56-year-old was sentenced to death by a military court in 2013 and is now set to become the first service member to be executed by armed forces since 1961.
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In an update today, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, said President Trump had approved the use of the firing squad following a recommendation from the US Secretary of War.
Writing on X, Parnell said: “Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended — and President Donald J. Trump has approved — death by US 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.
"The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come."
Hesgeth re-posted Parnell's statement to his own X account alongside the single word: "Justice."
As yet, a date for the execution has not been announced but army guidelines state that it must take place within 150 days of the President’s approval, but no sooner than 60 days, ABC reports.
Nidal Hasan will face death by firing squad for the 2009 Fort Wood mass shooting (U.S. Government Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences via Getty Images)
The horrific attack happened on 5 November 2009, when then-army psychiatrist Hasan opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at the Fort Hood military base.
He fatally shot 12 soldiers and one civilian, as well as injuring 32 others, before he was shot and severely wounded.
At trial in 2013, he told the court that he had ‘switched sides’ and said he had carried out the attack to prevent US soldiers being deployed to kill Muslims.
Lawyers also argued that Hasan did not want to go on an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.
Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder and sentenced to death.
He has since been held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Hasan's exhausted his appeals in 2025, clearing the way for his execution to go ahead.
He is one of just four inmates on death row in the US army’s justice system.
The last time the military executed a service member was in 1961, when Private John Bennett was convicted of the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in Austria and handed a death sentence.
In the United States, firing squad executions are extremely rare.
Last year, South Carolina carried out three executions by firing squad for Brad Sigmon, Mikal Mahdi and Stephen Bryant, which were the first such executions in the US for more than a decade.
Following the botched execution of Christa Pike last month, there has been renewed calls for alternatives to the lethal injection, including firing squad.
Featured Image Credit: Bell County Sheriff's Office via Getty Images
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Death Row, Crime
