Fort Hood Mass Shooter Nidal Hasan to Be Executed by Firing Squad in First US Military Execution Since 1961

Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, has been approved for execution by firing squad, the Pentagon announced on Monday, 5 October. If carried out, it would be the first US military execution since 1961.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the execution and President Donald Trump approved it. The Secretary of the Army will determine the date and location, neither of which has been announced, and further legal proceedings could delay the execution.

Approval Does Not Set an Execution Date

The announcement comes almost 17 years after the attack on the Texas Army base. A military jury sentenced Hasan to death in 2013 after convicting him of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

Army procedures prescribe an execution date between 60 and 150 days after presidential approval. However, that scheduling window does not rule out further legal proceedings or a court-ordered delay.

According to the Associated Press, Hasan could pursue a habeas corpus challenge in civilian federal court. Such proceedings could delay the execution beyond the timetable outlined in Army policy.

Presidential approval is therefore a significant step towards carrying out the sentence, but it does not establish when the execution will take place.

Pentagon Has Not Explained Firing-Squad Decision

Monday's announcement did not explain why a firing squad had been selected. Earlier reporting described lethal injection as the method provided for under existing Army execution procedures.

The decision follows a broader change in civilian federal execution policy. In April 2026, the Justice Department announced changes to its capital-punishment procedures that included adding firing squads as an approved execution method.

That civilian policy change and the military's preparations are separate developments. The Pentagon's announcement did not explain whether, or to what extent, the Justice Department's revised procedures would apply to Hasan's execution.

An internal Army planning document reviewed by ABC News outlined preparations for executions if presidential approval was granted. Issued in February and titled 'Operation Resolute Justice', it instructed officials to coordinate with the Federal Bureau of Prisons on transferring condemned military prisoners from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to the federal execution facility in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The document described contingency planning. It did not establish that Hasan had been transferred, and the Pentagon has not announced whether his execution would take place at Terre Haute.

Death Sentence Followed 2013 Court-Martial

On 5 November 2009, Hasan, then an Army major, opened fire inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood. Twelve soldiers and one civilian were killed, and 32 others were wounded before Hasan was shot and arrested.

Many people at the centre were preparing to deploy overseas. Hasan later represented himself at his court-martial and acknowledged responsibility for the shooting. He argued that he had acted to protect Muslims from US military operations overseas.

The military jury convicted him in 2013 and sentenced him to death. He has been held at Fort Leavenworth and is one of four prisoners on the Army's death row.

The US military last carried out an execution in 1961, when Private John Bennett was put to death after being convicted of raping and attempting to murder an 11-year-old girl in Austria.

Hasan's execution would be the military's first in more than six decades if it proceeds. The date, location and details of the firing-squad procedure remain unannounced, while further legal challenges could affect when the sentence is carried out.