Fort Hood Shooter Nidal Hasan to Be Executed by Firing Squad on Dec. 3, Army Says
The Army has scheduled the Dec. 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009. It would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
The U.S. Army will execute former Maj. Nidal Hasan by firing squad on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle announced on Tuesday, setting a date for what would be the first American military execution in 65 years.
Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist, was convicted of the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting at a Fort Hood processing center, where troops were undergoing final medical checks before deploying. He killed 13 people — 12 service members and one civilian — and wounded 32 others before responding officers shot and arrested him. He has used a wheelchair since being paralyzed in the exchange of gunfire.
The scheduling follows President Donald Trump’s approval on Monday of a firing-squad execution, which the Pentagon said came at the recommendation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the decision in a post on X. According to CNN, Telle said the execution is set for 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, the same post where the attack took place.
A rare military death sentence
A military jury panel of 13 officers convicted Hasan in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder and unanimously recommended a death sentence. Hasan admitted in court that he was the gunman and said he had targeted soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, describing his actions as an effort to protect the Taliban and its leaders.
Military executions require the president’s approval, and they are exceedingly rare. The last U.S. service member put to death was Army Pvt. John Bennett, who was hanged at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1961, according to CNN. The last Army execution by firing squad came in 1945, when Pvt. Eddie Slovik was shot in France after being convicted of desertion in the closing months of World War II.
Legal challenges could still intervene
The Dec. 3 date may not be the final word. According to CNN, military legal experts note that a condemned service member can still petition a federal court for habeas corpus review once a presidential approval is in place, and such a filing could produce a stay while the challenge works its way through the courts.
Hasan is one of four men held on the military’s death row at Fort Leavenworth, the Defense Department’s only maximum-security prison, according to CNN. If the execution proceeds as scheduled, it will be the Army’s first use of a firing squad in more than eight decades.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN and the New York Post.
