US Military Approves First Firing Squad Execution Since 1961 for Fort Hood Shooter

For the first time since 1961, the United States military is set to carry out an execution using a firing squad. President Donald Trump has approved the execution method for Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of a 2009 mass shooting at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, lemonde.fr reported.

Pentagon Announces Approval for Firing Squad Execution

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the execution method, and President Trump approved it for the convicted shooter, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on X, according to lemonde.fr. Reporting from 20minutes.fr notes that the date and location for the execution will be determined at a later time. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on Monday, October 5, that a recommandé – et le président Donald Trump a approuvé – que le terroriste condamné Nidal Malik Hasan soit exécuté par un peloton d’exécution de l’armée américaine, as reported by lemonde.fr. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was photographed greeting troops at the Quantico base in Virginia on September 30, 2026, according to Alex Wong/Pool Getty Images North America via AP.

The decision marks a return to a method of capital punishment that the U.S. military has not utilized in over six decades. While firing squads remain authorized in five U.S. states, the armed forces have not carried out an execution by this method since 1961, as detailed by 20minutes.fr.

The 2009 Attack at Fort Hood

Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim of Palestinian origin who worked as an army psychiatrist, opened fire on November 5, 2009, inside a medical center at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, lemonde.fr and 20minutes.fr reported. Soldiers at the facility were preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan at the time.

Hasan stated that he wanted to prevent soldiers from participating in wars he considered illegal, according to 20minutes.fr. The attack left 13 people dead—including 12 soldiers—and dozens of others wounded. Investigators described him as a lone wolf linked to Al-Qaeda, noting during his trial that he had exchanged online messages with Anwar al-Awlaqi, an imam who was killed in a 2011 U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

Hasan was shot during the incident and is partially paralyzed as a result. A military tribunal sentenced him to death in 2013. He has since been held at a military correctional facility in Kansas, where 20minutes.fr reports he represented himself at trial without calling witnesses or contesting the charges. His court-appointed attorneys estimated that he appeared to be aiming for the death penalty, according to 20minutes.fr.

Botched Execution Rekindles US Capital Punishment Debates

The announcement arrives as broader public and legal debates over capital punishment methods intensify across the United States. 20minutes.fr notes that the discussion has been recently rekindled by the botched execution of Christa Pike, who survived two lethal injection attempts and remained hospitalized in critical condition after she was scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in over two centuries.

Scheduling the Execution Date

Federal and military authorities have not yet released the specific timeline for when or where the firing squad will take place. The Pentagon confirmed that logistics regarding the date and location remain under review following the presidential approval.