President Donald Trump has officially sanctioned the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the US Army psychiatrist responsible for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that claimed 13 lives and injured over 30 others. This decision, announced by the Pentagon, marks the first military execution in the United States since 1961.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the method of execution, stating, "The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come." Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 by a military jury after being convicted of the mass shooting, which was inspired by Al-Qaeda ideology.

On November 5, 2009, Hasan opened fire at a medical facility within the Fort Hood military base in Texas, a critical staging area for soldiers deploying to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. The attack resulted in the deaths of 12 soldiers and one civilian, with many others wounded. Hasan, who was shot and partially paralyzed by a responding civilian police officer, chose to represent himself during the trial, failing to present any defense or witnesses.

The court proceedings revealed that Hasan had expressed opposition to the US military's actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and had communicated online with Anwar al-Awlaki, an American cleric linked to Al-Qaeda, who was later killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. Legal representatives for Hasan raised concerns during the trial that he might be seeking execution, a claim that has now culminated in this historic decision.

While mass shootings are unfortunately common in the United States, incidents at military installations are rare. Recent years have seen isolated cases, such as a 2025 shooting at a military base in Georgia that injured five soldiers, and a 2019 incident in Hawaii where a US sailor fatally shot two individuals. The FBI has classified some of these violent acts as inspired by foreign terrorist groups, highlighting the ongoing concerns about security within military environments.

The approval of Hasan's execution by firing squad underscores a significant moment in US military justice, as the nation prepares to carry out a death sentence that has been pending for nearly a decade. The exact timing and location of the execution will be determined by the Secretary of the Army, as the military moves forward with this unprecedented action against a convicted terrorist.