Donald Trump orders first U.S military execution by firing squad since 1945 for Fort Hood shooter

Thirteen lives were taken at Fort Hood—and now a reported presidential decision could bring the killer closer to execution. A statement attributed to a Pentagon spokesperson says Donald Trump approved a firing squad for Nidal Hasan, as decades without a military execution hang over the case. But approval alone leaves crucial questions about the actual execution timeline still unan…

UNDATED: In this undated handout photo from the website of the U.S. Government Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences downloaded on November 6, 2009, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army doctor named as a suspect in the shooting death of 13 people and the wounding of 31 others at Fort Hood, Texas November 5, is pictured. (Photo by U.S. Government Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences via Getty Images)

Former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 for the November 2009 Fort Hood shooting, which killed 13 people and wounded 32. Witnesses described initially mistaking the gunfire for a training exercise before realizing people around them were bleeding. According to a statement attributed to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, President Donald Trump has approved execution by firing squad following a recommendation from Pete Hegseth. The supplied account does not independently verify that announcement.

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: President Donald Trump waves at the press as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House on March 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. The President spend the weekend in Florida. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

The military’s last execution occurred in 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was put to death—not more than 80 years ago, as one passage of the report claims. Army officials have described execution preparations as longstanding contingency planning rather than evidence of an imminent execution. No execution date is provided for Hasan. Behind the legal developments remains the lasting human toll of an attack that devastated soldiers, survivors and families.