US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of former US Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted over the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 after being convicted of killing 13 people and attempting to kill 32 others during the attack at the US Army base.
The Pentagon said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the execution, which was subsequently approved by Trump. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced the decision in a post on X, adding that the Secretary of the Army would determine the date and location of the execution.
The November 5, 2009 attack took place at a medical facility at Fort Hood, where soldiers were preparing for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hasan, who was serving as an Army psychiatrist at the time, opened fire, killing 12 soldiers and one retired serviceman, while 32 others were wounded. He was shot and partially paralysed by a civilian police officer who responded to the scene.
During his court-martial, Hasan did not deny carrying out the shooting and was convicted on 45 counts of premeditated murder and attempted premeditated murder. He was subsequently placed on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
If carried out, Hasan’s execution would be the first US military execution since 1961 and the first known execution by a US military firing squad in decades. Military executions are rare and require presidential approval under US military law.
