Trump approves firing squad for Fort Hood gunman, Pentagon says

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on 5 October that President Donald Trump had approved execution by US Army firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan, following a recommendation from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Army secretary will set the time and place, Parnell said. Approval is a step towards carrying out Hasan’s death sentence, not confirmation that an execution is imminent. [2]

Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 after a court martial convicted him of 13 murders and 32 attempted murders in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. A military appeals court upheld the judgment in 2024, and the US Supreme Court declined to review the case in March 2025. [3] [5]

The 13 people killed were 12 soldiers and a civilian employee, Michael Cahill, according to an Army casualty list. Army records count 31 people wounded by gunfire. The court explained that the 32 attempted-murder convictions included an officer who was not shot; Parnell’s announcement used a figure of 32 wounded. [4] [11] [3] [2]