Trump approves firing squad execution for 2009 Fort Hood gunman
President Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of the gunman who killed 13 people and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood in Texas, according to the Pentagon. It would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has recommended – and President Donald J. Trump has approved – death by U.S. Army firing squad for convicted terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, the jihadist who opened fire on unarmed American soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009,” Department of War spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement on Monday.
“The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution,” Parnell added. “Judgement day for Hasan has finally come.”
The former Army major and psychiatrist carried out the attack on November 5, 2009, at the base’s Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where troops were preparing for deployment. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
Twelve military personnel and one civilian were killed. The gunman was shot and taken into custody after civilian police officers confronted him at the base.
A military jury convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in August 2013. He was sentenced to death on August 28.
He is being held on military death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The last military execution was carried out there on April 13, 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged for rape and attempted murder.
Execution by firing squad involves multiple shooters firing rifles at a restrained prisoner, typically aiming at the heart. Parnell’s statement did not provide details about the procedures the Army will use.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
