Fort Hood Shooter Faces Firing Squad Execution After Trump Approval

Key Points

• US President Donald Trump has approved the execution of former US Army officer Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.
• The approved method is reportedly a firing squad, potentially making Hasan’s execution the first US military execution since 1961.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the execution, while Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced Trump’s approval in an X statement.
• Army Secretary Adam Telle, serving in an acting capacity, is expected to determine the execution date and time.
• Hasan was convicted in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and received a death sentence following his court-martial.
• The Fort Hood attack left 13 people dead and 32 wounded during approximately 10 minutes of gunfire.
• Hasan represented himself during the military trial and admitted carrying out the attack, linking his actions to his opposition to US military deployments and the treatment of Muslims.
• Military appeals courts upheld his death sentence in 2020 and 2023, while the US Supreme Court declined mandatory judicial review in March 2025.
• Hasan remains held at the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, alongside other prisoners on military death row.
• Although presidential approval advances the execution process, further federal court proceedings could delay the execution.

Texas 24 News (T24N) October 6, 2026 – President Donald Trump has approved the execution of former US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others during the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. The approved method is a firing squad, according to the supplied reporting, potentially marking the first execution by the US military in more than six decades. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had recommended that the president authorise the execution, while Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced Trump’s decision in a statement posted on X. The precise date and time are expected to be determined by Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle.

The presidential decision represents a significant procedural step in a military capital case, but it does not necessarily mean the execution will take place immediately. Hasan remains entitled to pursue available legal challenges, including proceedings in the civilian federal court system. The military’s capital punishment process is also subject to specific legal and administrative requirements before an execution can be carried out.

What did President Trump approve in Hasan’s case?

According to the supplied report, Trump approved the death sentence against Hasan following Hegseth’s recommendation, with a firing squad identified as the method of execution.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the decision through an X statement. In his announcement, Parnell wrote, “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.”

The execution date and time have not yet been established. That responsibility is expected to fall to Army Secretary Adam Telle, who is currently serving in an acting capacity.

The presidential authorisation is important because military death sentences and executions operate under a different framework from ordinary state and federal capital cases. The president has ultimate authority in determining whether a military death sentence is carried out and can specify the method of execution.

The development therefore moves Hasan’s case from a lengthy appellate process towards the practical preparations required for an execution, although additional legal proceedings could still affect the timetable.

What happened during the Fort Hood shooting?

The attack occurred on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, a major US Army installation in Texas.

Hasan, a US-born Army major and military psychiatrist, entered an Army processing centre where personnel were waiting to receive medical attention. He opened fire on people inside the facility.

Thirteen people were killed, including a pregnant soldier, while another 32 people were wounded during approximately 10 minutes of shooting.

The attack became one of the most serious incidents of violence against US military personnel on a domestic military installation.

Hasan was confronted by two officers during the shooting and was shot several times. He survived the confrontation but was left paralysed from the waist down.

The incident immediately became the subject of a major military and national investigation, particularly because Hasan was an Army officer and psychiatrist who had been preparing for a deployment connected to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How did Hasan’s military trial reach a death sentence?

Hasan was court-martialled following the shooting, and military prosecutors sought the death penalty from the beginning of the proceedings.

His trial ultimately resulted in a conviction in 2013 on 13 counts of premeditated murder. The military jury recommended the maximum punishment, which was death.

Hasan represented himself during the proceedings. He admitted carrying out the shootings and offered an explanation centred on his opposition to US military operations and the deaths of Muslims.

According to the supplied reporting, Hasan was scheduled to deploy shortly after the shooting.

His conduct during the proceedings also became significant. Rather than mounting a conventional defence, he acknowledged responsibility for the attack. Lawyers appointed to assist him argued that his testimony effectively helped the prosecution’s case.

The military justice system nevertheless continued through its mandatory review procedures.

Why did Hasan’s execution take so long?

The period between Hasan’s conviction and the latest presidential decision illustrates the lengthy process surrounding military capital punishment.

The military justice system is generally cautious in carrying out death sentences. Capital cases undergo multiple layers of review, and those reviews can continue for many years.

In Hasan’s case, the delay was not simply the result of a conventional appeal strategy by the convicted prisoner. The supplied reporting states that several stages of review were required under the military justice system.

The US Army Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Hasan’s death sentence in 2020.

Three years later, in 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces also upheld the sentence.

In March 2025, the US Supreme Court denied a mandatory petition for judicial review, leaving the military capital punishment process to continue.

The next significant step came in September 2025, when Hegseth announced that he was seeking presidential approval to execute Hasan.

At that point, there was no specific public report that Hegseth had requested execution by firing squad.

Why is the firing squad significant?

The choice of a firing squad is significant because executions by the US military are extremely rare.

The last military execution occurred in 1961, when former US soldier John Bennett was hanged following his conviction for the rape of an 11-year-old girl.

If Hasan’s execution proceeds, it would therefore end a period of more than six decades without a US military execution.

The military justice system permits capital punishment for certain offences, including premeditated murder under the applicable military code.

Historically, the US military has used more than one method of execution. Hanging has been used in the past, while lethal injection has also been available.

The president has authority over the final execution arrangements in a military capital case, including the designated method.

The firing-squad decision consequently forms a distinct part of Trump’s approval rather than merely representing a procedural confirmation of Hasan’s existing death sentence.

What evidence and circumstances were examined before Hasan’s conviction?

The Fort Hood investigation examined Hasan’s background, statements and communications before the shooting.

Investigators found that Hasan had exchanged emails with Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American Islamic scholar whom US authorities accused of having links to al-Qaeda.

Hasan had also expressed opposition to US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The supplied reporting states that he repeatedly raised concerns with colleagues about the wars and about the treatment of Muslims within the US Army.

These circumstances became part of the broader examination of his motives and the events leading up to the Fort Hood attack.

However, the military prosecution ultimately centred on the murder charges under the military justice system.

Hasan was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and convicted on those charges.

The case also raised questions about how military law dealt with an attack of this nature. The supplied reporting notes that Hasan was charged in the context of military law rather than under a specific military offence of “terrorism”, because the military justice code did not contain a corresponding crime at the time.

Can Hasan still challenge the execution?

Trump’s approval does not necessarily establish an immediate execution date.

Hasan can still seek to use available legal procedures in the civilian federal court system. Such proceedings could potentially delay the execution while courts consider any claims that remain legally available.

The supplied report notes that Hasan’s limited efforts to defend himself during the original trial could make further litigation less likely, but the existence and outcome of any future legal challenge cannot be assumed.

The execution process must also pass through the necessary administrative and legal stages.

For that reason, the announcement should be understood as a presidential authorisation rather than confirmation that Hasan will be executed on a particular date.

Who else is held on military death row?

Hasan is being held at the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

The facility also houses other prisoners who have received military death sentences.

One of them is Hasan Akbar, who was convicted of two counts of murder after attacking fellow Army personnel at a US military base in Kuwait in 2003 during the Iraq invasion.

Another is Ronald Gray, a former soldier convicted of multiple serious offences, including four murders and eight rapes. His execution was approved in 2008 during the administration of President George W. Bush, but the process was subsequently placed on hold by a judge.

Timothy Hennis, a former sergeant, is also on military death row after being convicted in 2010 of a triple murder.

Their cases demonstrate the length of time that can pass between a military death sentence and any potential execution.

What happened in previous US military executions?

The US military has historically maintained its own system of capital punishment, although executions have become exceptionally uncommon.

The most recent military execution took place in 1961, when John Bennett was hanged after being convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl.

Since then, military prisoners sentenced to death have remained subject to prolonged legal review and administrative procedures.

Hasan’s case is therefore notable not only because of the seriousness of the Fort Hood attack but also because it could result in the restoration of military executions after a gap of roughly 65 years.

The development also illustrates the distinction between military and civilian capital punishment. Although both systems involve death sentences, military convictions are governed by military law and require presidential involvement at the execution stage.

What did the defence and prosecution process reveal about Hasan?

Hasan’s decision to represent himself was an unusual feature of the court-martial.

Rather than attempting to dispute the central facts of the shooting, he acknowledged responsibility and presented his actions as connected to his opposition to the US military’s overseas deployments.

His appointed lawyers raised concerns about the consequences of his approach during the trial, arguing that his own testimony strengthened the prosecution’s case.

The jury nevertheless had to determine the charges and punishment within the military justice framework.

The 2013 death sentence subsequently entered the mandatory appellate process, where the sentence was reviewed by military appellate courts before the Supreme Court declined mandatory review in 2025.

The extended timeline demonstrates that a military death sentence does not automatically translate into an immediate execution.

What is the background to military capital punishment in the US?

The US military has maintained the authority to impose the death penalty for certain offences under military law.

Premeditated murder is among the offences for which capital punishment can be imposed when the statutory and procedural requirements are met.

However, military executions have been rare for decades.

The long gap since the 1961 execution of Bennett means that Hasan’s case has attracted particular attention within the broader history of US military justice.

His conviction also followed one of the deadliest attacks against US service personnel on a US military installation.

The subsequent legal process involved the military trial system, appellate review by military courts and consideration by the nation’s highest court.

Hegseth’s 2025 request for presidential approval represented the latest major administrative stage before Trump’s October 2026 authorisation.

What could happen next in Hasan’s case?

The immediate next step is expected to involve the Army establishing an execution date and time.

That process is not necessarily final, because legal proceedings can affect the timetable.

Hasan remains in federal military custody at Fort Leavenworth, where he has been held on military death row.

If further litigation is initiated, courts could consider whether any legal issue prevents the execution from proceeding.

If no successful legal challenge interrupts the process, military authorities would then move towards carrying out the presidentially authorised sentence.

The method approved by Trump is a firing squad, distinguishing the planned execution from the hanging used in the last military execution in 1961.

What is the prediction for US military justice and military death-row prisoners?

The most immediate potential effect is on Hasan’s case, where the presidential decision moves the prisoner closer to a possible execution after years of judicial review.

For other prisoners on military death row, the development could demonstrate that a military death sentence can eventually progress to the execution stage after the required legal and presidential procedures have been completed.

For US military personnel and their families, the case may also bring renewed attention to the military justice system’s handling of capital offences.