What We Know
Nidal Malik Hasan
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Nidal Malik Hasan: what we know. This week the Pentagon said President Trump approved death by Army firing squad for Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded 32. No date has been announced. Here is what is confirmed, what has happened since the 2013 court-martial, and what is still open.
What's confirmed
- Nov. 5, 2009shooting at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center, Fort Hood, Texas. 13 killed, 32 wounded. (NBC News; Military Times)
- Aug. 2013a military jury convicts Hasan of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder; he is sentenced to death. (Army.mil; NBC News)
- Hasan represented himself. In his opening statement he told jurors, "The evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter." (NBC News, Aug. 6, 2013, citing the Associated Press)
- Feb. 6, 2015the Army says it will award Purple Hearts to the victims after Congress changes the criteria; the Army had long maintained the attack was workplace violence. WGBH reported that Hasan had contact with the cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. (WGBH/NPR)
- Mar. 31, 2025the U.S. Supreme Court denies his petition for review, No. 24-5225. (Supreme Court docket; Killeen Daily Herald)
- Oct. 5-6, 2026the Pentagon says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended, and the President approved, death by Army firing squad; the Secretary of the Army sets the time and place. It would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961. (CBS News; NBC News; Military Times; Al Jazeera)
What we don't know
- When or where. No date has been announced.
- Whether Hasan or a lawyer will file a habeas petition in federal court (28 U.S.C. 2241). It isn't clear whether one is planned; if one is filed it could delay things, possibly for years. (NIMJ CAAFlog; AP)
What happens next
The Secretary of the Army sets the time and place. We'll update this write-up when a date is announced or a court rules, in the format UPDATE (date): ...
The record · as of Oct. 6, 2026
How we know
Primary records are court and agency documents; reporting is news coverage we checked against them. How we report.
What happens next
Updates and corrections
- CBS News, Oct. 6, 2026 — Pentagon says Trump approved firing squad for Fort Hood shooter
- NBC News, Oct. 2026 — coverage of the Pentagon announcement (nbcnews.com)
- Military Times, Oct. 6, 2026 — coverage of the Pentagon announcement (militarytimes.com)
- Fox News, Sept. 2025 — Pentagon seeks Trump approval, first U.S. military execution in 60 years — https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-seeks-trump-approval-first-us-military-execution-60-years-fort-hood-mass-shooting
- Al Jazeera, Oct. 6, 2026 — coverage of the Pentagon announcement (aljazeera.com)
- Army.mil, "Fort Hood shooter Hasan sentenced to death" — https://www.army.mil/article/110393/fort_hood_shooter_hasan_sentenced_to_death
- NBC News, Aug. 6, 2013, "Fort Hood suspect: 'Evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter'" — https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fort-hood-suspect-evidence-will-clearly-show-i-am-shooter-flna6C10857413
- WGBH/NPR, Feb. 6, 2015, "Army Will Award Fort Hood Victims Purple Hearts" — https://www.wgbh.org/news/2015-02-06/army-will-award-fort-hood-victims-purple-hearts
- Supreme Court of the United States, Hasan v. United States, No. 24-5225 — https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24-5225.html
- Killeen Daily Herald, Mar. 31, 2025 — https://kdhnews.com/military/u-s-supreme-court-denies-petition-filed-by-nidal-hasan-infamous-fort-hood-mass-murderer/article_7913088b-71d9-4d52-bc66-381d49240ea4.html
- National Institute of Military Justice, "Where are we on Hasan" — https://www.nimj.org/caaflog/where-are-we-on-hasan
- Photo: U.S. Army (Fort Hood memorial stone), public domain.
We name no one who has not been convicted. Remembering the 13 people killed.
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