Trump Approves Execution of Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan

18:25

Trump approves military execution of Fort Hood shooter

U.S. President Donald Trump has approved the military execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.

The decision clears the way for the first execution carried out by the U.S. military in more than six decades. The precise date and location of the execution have yet to be determined.

Pentagon confirms presidential approval

According to Sean Parnell, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recommended that Hasan be executed by an Army firing squad, a recommendation subsequently approved by President Trump.

The announcement marks a significant development in a case that has remained one of the most consequential episodes of violence involving U.S. military personnel in recent decades.

Hasan was sentenced to death by a military court in 2013 after being found responsible for the attack at Fort Hood, then one of the largest U.S. military installations in the country.

Thirteen people killed in 2009 attack

The shooting took place on November 5, 2009, inside a medical facility at Fort Hood. Hasan opened fire and killed 13 people, including 12 members of the U.S. military. Dozens of others were wounded.

Hasan, who was born in the United States and is of Palestinian heritage, was serving as an Army psychiatrist at the time of the attack.

He was shot and seriously wounded during the incident, leaving him partially paralyzed. His injuries did not prevent the military justice system from subsequently prosecuting him and imposing the death penalty.

A rare return to military executions

If carried out, Hasan's execution would represent a historic moment for the U.S. armed forces. The Army has not executed a condemned service member since 1961.

The decision therefore places the case at the intersection of military justice, capital punishment and the long-running legal consequences of the Fort Hood attack.

The authorities have not yet announced where or when the execution will take place. Until those details are established, Hasan remains on death row under the military justice system.