Trump approves firing squad execution for 2009 Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan - The Indian Express

The Pentagon announced late on Monday that President Donald Trump has approved death by firing squad for Nidal Hasan, who was convicted for his role in the fatal 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X that the recommendation came directly from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who will set the timeline and venue for the execution.

Recalling the event, Parnell noted that Hasan opened fire on unarmed troops while shouting “Allahu Akbar”, resulting in 13 deaths and 32 injuries. “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come,” Parnell stated.

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 32 others while shouting “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.

The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.

In a follow-up post, Hegseth echoed the sentiment, writing: “Justice.”

Execution by firing squad is authorised in five US states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. Three executions by firing squad were carried out by South Carolina after the inmates chose the method in 2025. Before that, a firing squad execution was carried out in 2010 in Utah.

In the United States, a firing squad execution involves strapping the condemned inmate to a specialised chair with protective restraints and placing a dark hood over their head. A medical examiner or official locates the inmate’s heart and pins a target (often a white cloth target with a red bullseye) directly over it. The execution takes place behind a wall equipped with small ports or a black curtain, says the Death Penalty Information Center in the US.

A team of designated executioners — typically five trained law enforcement or correctional officers — stand roughly 20 feet away armed with identical high-powered rifles. To spare the officers from individual guilt, one of the rifles is randomly loaded with a blank or dummy cartridge so no shooter knows who fired the lethal rounds. Upon command, the shooters fire simultaneously at the chest target, causing rapid fatal internal injuries.

Apart from the US, execution by firing squad remains legally authorised as a primary or secondary form of capital punishment in several nations, including Indonesia, North Korea, Taiwan, Cuba, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, Somalia, and Saudi Arabia. Some countries, like Brazil and El Salvador, authorise firing squad executions during times of military conflict.

Firing squad executions in the five states require the President’s authorisation, as in the Nidal Hasan case.

From the archives | OPINION: What should we make of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan,who apparently killed 13 innocent people at Fort Hood?

On November 5, 2009, US. Army Major Nidal Hasan, an American citizen of Jordanian descent, carried out a deadly mass shooting at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center inside the Fort Hood military post near Killeen, Texas. Hasan was a military psychiatrist there. Armed with an FN Five-seven semi-automatic handgun, Hasan opened fire on unarmed troops preparing for deployment, killing 13 people-including a pregnant soldier-and wounding 32 others while shouting “Allahu Akbar”.

The rampage ended when civilian responders engaged him in a gunfight, shooting him multiple times and leaving him paralysed from the waist down. Prior investigations revealed Hasan had been radicalised after getting in touch with extremist Islamic figures, including radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

Hasan was charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and faced a court-martial in August 2013, where he represented himself and admitted to have carried out the attack. He claimed his motive was to protect Taliban leaders abroad. A military jury convicted him on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, subsequently sentencing him to death.

Since his conviction, Hasan has remained incarcerated on military death row at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

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