Trump approves military firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan
BELL COUNTY, TX - APRIL 9: In this photo released by the Bell County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who is charged with murder in the Fort Hood shootings, is seen in a booking photo after being moved to the Bell County
FORT HOOD, Texas - President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas.
What we know:
The Pentagon announced Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended death by a U.S. Army firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan, and President Trump approved it.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed the approval in a post on X, writing, "Judgement day for Hasan has finally come."
What we don't know:
It is unclear exactly when the execution will happen.
Parnell said that the Army secretary will set the time and place for the execution.
UNDATED: In this undated handout photo from the website of the U.S. Government Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences downloaded on November 6, 2009, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army doctor named as a suspect in the shooting deat
The backstory:
56-year-old Hasan received a death sentence for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2013.
Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 while serving as an Army major.
Hasan, a U.S.-born citizen of Palestinian descent, opened fire in a processing center at Fort Hood where troops were preparing for deployment.
As troops tried to flee outside, Hasan followed them out the back door, where he confronted police.
He was shot by police and fell to the ground.
That’s when police found an additional gun, extra ammunition magazines and a cell phone.
Hasan said the attack was an effort to stop the soldiers from going to Afghanistan.
"There was adequate provocation that these were deploying soldiers that were going to engage in an illegal war," Hasan told the military judge at his trial.
The backstory:
The U.S. military has not carried out the death penalty since 1961, when Pvt. John Bennett was hanged for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl in Austria.
Hasan would be the first person executed after a U.S. armed forces court-martial in 65 years, and it would mark the Army’s first execution of a soldier since World War II.
Four men, including Hasan, are currently on the military's death row at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.
Trump approved the firing squad execution days after a failed attempt to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection pushed Tennessee's governor to halt further executions this year and order an independent review.
Christa Pike still on a ventilator 4 days after failed execution, lawyer says
A lawyer for Christa Pike says the death row inmate has not regained consciousness since the state's failed execution Wednesday night.
What they're saying:
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth responded to Parnell's X post:
The Source: Information in this article was provided by social media posts and FOX News.