Donald Trump approves execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, former US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 in 2009 Fort Hood shooting

The US Department of War (DoW) on Monday (October 5) announced that former army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan will be executed. Sean Parnell, chief spokesperson at the Pentagon, said in a post on social media that the execution was recommended by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and has been approved by President Donald Trump. The execution will be carried out by the US Army firing squad, Parnell stated. "The Secretary of the Army will set the time and place of the execution. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come," Parnell wrote in the post.

"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," Parnell said in an X post.

2009 Fort Hood shooting

Nidal Malik Hasan, a former US Army major and psychiatrist, had carried out a mass shooting at the Fort Hood army base in Texas nearly 17 years ago, on November 5, 2009. Around 1:30 pm that day, Hasan entered the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where soldiers were preparing for deployment.

The shooting left 13 people dead and more than 30 injured, making it the deadliest mass shooting ever at a US military installation. Witnesses reported that Hasan shouted "Allahu Akbar" before he opened fire. The attack ended when law enforcement officers shot and incapacitated Hasan, who was left paralyzed from the waist down and has since used a wheelchair.

In August 2013, a military court convicted Hasan of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He was found guilty on all charges. Days later, the panel unanimously sentenced him to death. He was also dismissed from military service, with his pay and allowances forfeited.

Who is Nidal Malik Hasan?

Hasan, born in 1970 in Arlington County, Virginia, to Palestinian immigrant parents, studied medicine and worked as a psychiatrist in the US Army. Before the Fort Hood attack, he worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. During his military career, Hasan's colleagues and supervisors had reportedly raised concerns about his some of his behavior and views, though he continued to remain in service.