Summary
Nidal Malik Hasan, 56, a former US Army major and psychiatrist, was sentenced to death by a military court for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in which he killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.
President Donald Trump approved his death sentence on 2 October 2026, and the Army has ordered his execution by firing squad at Fort Hood on Thursday 3 December 2026 at 1:00 pm Central time. It would be the first US military execution since 1961.
The crime
On 5 November 2009, Hasan, then an Army major and psychiatrist, opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, Texas, where soldiers were preparing to deploy. He killed 13 people, 12 soldiers and one civilian employee, and wounded 32 others. According to witness testimony, he passed up opportunities to shoot civilians and targeted soldiers in uniform.
Hasan was shot by police officers responding to the attack and was left paralysed from the chest down.
At his court-martial in 2013, a military jury convicted him on all charges, including 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. The Army did not charge him with terrorism.
Legal history
- 5 November 200913 people killed and 32 wounded in the mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas
- 23 August 2013Military jury convicts Hasan on all charges at his court-martial
- 28 August 2013Military jury sentences him to death
- Later yearsConviction and death sentence upheld through the military appeals process
- 31 March 2025US Supreme Court declines to review his court-martial conviction
- 2 October 2026President Donald Trump approves the death sentence; the President has sole authority to approve a military execution
- 6 October 2026Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle orders execution by firing squad at Fort Hood on 3 December 2026 at 1:00 pm Central time
Current status
The execution is scheduled for Thursday 3 December 2026 at 1:00 pm Central time at Fort Hood, Texas, by firing squad. The Army has named the Commandant of the United States Disciplinary Barracks as the execution officer. Hasan is currently held on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
It would be the first US military execution since 1961. The Pentagon had planned to livestream the execution, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said he would make sure it was public, but President Trump cancelled the livestream on 15 October 2026. Hasan's representative has criticised the decision to carry it out at Fort Hood, citing medical concerns because he is paralysed.
Further legal challenges may be filed before the execution date.
Sources
- US Army: Army sets execution date for Nidal Hasan (official announcement)
- Military Times: Army sets date and location for execution
- CBS Texas: Hasan set for 3 December execution by firing squad
- ABC News: Hasan execution will be live-streamed, Pentagon official says
- Wikipedia: 2009 Fort Hood shooting (background)