FILE – This undated file photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff’s Department via The Temple Daily Telegram shows Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage. A military appeals court has thrown out a judge’s order to forcibly shave the Fort Hood shooting suspect and removed the judge from the case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 that Col. Gregory Gross didn’t appear impartial while presiding over the case of Maj. Nidal Hasan. (AP Photo/Bell County Sheriff’s Department via The Temple Daily Telegram, File)AP Photo/Bell County Sheriff's Department

Pentagon says Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad

Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 after being found guilty on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of premeditated attempted murder.

by · 5 NBCDFW

The Pentagon says President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood.

A post on X from Sean Parnell, assistant to the Secretary of Defense for public affairs, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended “death by U.S. Army firing squad” for Hasan and that Trump approved the recommendation. Parnell said the Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution.

Hasan was convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood.

A military jury unanimously sentenced him to death.

If carried out, Hasan's execution would be the first by the U.S. military in more than 65 years. The last service member executed by the military was Army Pvt. John A. Bennett, who was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in April 1961

If carried out, Hasan's execution would be the first by the U.S. military in more than 65 years. The last service member executed by the military was Army Pvt. John A. Bennett, who was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in April 1961.

Firing squads have rarely been used in modern U.S. executions, but their use has recently expanded. An April 2026 Justice Department report said five states allowed firing squads as a method of execution and recommended that the federal execution protocol include firing squads and other alternatives to lethal injection. The report noted that the U.S. Supreme Court first upheld execution by firing squad against an Eighth Amendment challenge in 1878.

Hasan's case is under the military justice system, which is separate from the federal civilian death penalty system discussed in the DOJ report. Military death sentences require personal approval from the president before an execution can proceed.