President Donald Trump has approved a U.S. Army firing squad execution for Nidal Malik Hasan, the military psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
In November 2009, Hasan opened fire on unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas. The attack killed 13 people and wounded 32 more. Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the shooting, according to the report.
Hasan has been on death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, since 2013. The presidential approval establishes the execution method, but it does not set a date. The Secretary of the Army will decide when and where the punishment takes place.
The approval followed Hegseth’s recommendation
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended the firing squad and President Trump approved it. Parnell described Hasan as a convicted terrorist responsible for the attack on American soldiers.
The announcement leaves the case between presidential approval and military scheduling. The Army still has to identify the time and location, and Parnell’s statement did not provide either detail.
The decision would end a long military gap
If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961. That makes the announcement significant beyond the individual case because the Army is preparing to use a method that has not been used for a military execution in decades.
Parnell posted the statement on October 5, 2026. It repeated the death toll from the Fort Hood attack and confirmed that the Secretary of the Army, rather than the presidential announcement, will set the final schedule.
The attack’s description remains politically charged
The decision also highlights the continuing dispute over how the Fort Hood shooting was characterized. The original account recalls that former President Barack Obama described the incident as "workplace violence." The Trump administration statement instead labels Hasan a jihadist and convicted terrorist.
For now, the next unanswered point is the execution date. The administration has approved the punishment, while the Army remains responsible for determining when and where it will be carried out.
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…
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 5, 2026