Trump approves firing-squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan

President Donald Trump has authorized the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Pentagon announced on Monday.

Hasan was convicted in the 2009 mass shooting at the Fort Hood military base in Texas that left 13 people dead. Military authorities say the president approved the use of a firing squad as the method of execution, according to Pentagon statements reported by multiple outlets.

Case background

Hasan, a former U.S. Army psychiatrist, was tried by a military jury and sentenced to death. The Guardian reports the sentence was handed down in 2013. The 2009 attack at Fort Hood remains one of the deadliest on a U.S. military installation.

The Pentagon confirmation of the president’s approval was posted on social media by the department’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, according to the Guardian. Other outlets including Al Jazeera, Vanguard and Punch also reported the Pentagon’s announcement.

Significance and historical context

If carried out, the execution would be the first time a U.S. service member has been put to death by the military in more than six decades, the Guardian reports. The decision revives rare use of capital punishment under military law and highlights ongoing debates over methods and authority for military executions.

The news comes as the Pentagon implements the president’s authorization; details about timing, further procedural steps and legal challenges were not provided in the Pentagon statements cited by the outlets. The reports do not say when the execution might take place or whether any appeals or stays are pending.

What sources say and what remains unclear

Multiple news organisations reported the Pentagon’s brief announcement that President Trump approved the firing-squad option for Hasan. The outlets agree on the basic facts: Hasan was convicted for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and the Pentagon confirmed the president’s approval.

Several specifics, including a precise timetable, any pending legal motions, and operational arrangements for an execution, were not disclosed in the reporting. The Guardian supplies additional context about the 2013 death sentence and the historical rarity of military executions; those details were not included in every report and are attributed accordingly.

Legal observers and advocates on both sides of the death-penalty debate have in the past scrutinised military capital cases, but the recent reports do not include reactions from victims’ families, legal representatives or advocacy groups.