The Pentagon said Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood in Texas on 3 December. Sean Parnell said on X that Pete Hegseth made the recommendation and Donald Trump approved it.
Hasan is the former US Army major convicted after fatally shooting 13 unarmed US soldiers and injuring 32 people at Fort Hood on 5 November 2009. Parnell wrote, "Judgement day for Hasan has finally come," as the military moved the case to an execution date.
Fort Hood attack record
The 2009 shootings were the deadliest ever non-combat attack on an American military base. They took place in a crowded medical building where deploying soldiers were waiting for check-ups and vaccines, a detail that explains why the attack left such a large toll in one place.
Hasan later admitted in court that he was the gunman and apologised for "any mistakes." In 2013, during his court-martial, he also said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan, a claim that stood alongside his admission and left the record of the case divided between guilt and his stated motive.
Military death penalty process
The execution would be the first military firing-squad execution since the end of World War Two. Military law requires presidential approval, appellate review and a final judgment on legality before an execution can move forward, which is why the schedule matters now rather than at the sentencing stage.
Hasan is one of four inmates on the US military's death row. The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces deemed the military death penalty unconstitutional in 1983, and it was reinstated in 1984 by an executive order under Ronald Reagan.
Next step at Fort Hood
The execution is scheduled to take place at Fort Hood in Texas on 3 December. With that date set, the remaining question is the final appellate step that cleared the sentence to proceed under military law.
