The date is set. December 3, 1 p.m. Central, Fort Hood, firing squad.
People waited almost 17 years for this to show up on a calendar. Nidal Hasan killed 13 and wounded 32 unarmed soldiers in 2009, got the death sentence in 2013, and sat on military death row while the case dragged. Families of the dead expected a day. Soldiers expected a day. Tuesday the Army put one on paper.
Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle announced it on social media: the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad will take place at Fort Hood, Texas, on Thursday, December 3, 2026, at 1 p.m. CT. The day before, President Donald Trump had approved the firing squad method on the recommendation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — the Pentagon announced it Monday night.
The facts of the case were never in dispute. On November 5, 2009, Hasan — then an Army major and psychiatrist — walked into a medical building at Fort Hood where soldiers were getting checkups, shouted "Allahu Akbar," and opened fire with a laser-sighted handgun on unarmed troops. Thirteen people were killed and 32 wounded. At his 2013 court-martial, Hasan barely defended himself; he told the jury the evidence would show he was the shooter and described himself as a soldier who had "switched sides," saying he acted to stop troops from deploying to Afghanistan. A panel of 13 officers convicted him on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder, and unanimously recommended death.
If it goes ahead, this will be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 — when Army Private John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth — and the Army's first firing-squad execution since World War II.
The reaction from the Pentagon was blunt. Spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X: "He killed 13 people and wounded 32 others while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' during the attack. Judgement day for Hasan has finally come." Hegseth replied with one word: "Justice."
One honest caveat: the date could still slip. Legal analysts note Hasan can file a habeas corpus appeal in the civilian federal court system, which could put the execution on hold — potentially for years. The Army has not executed anyone in over six decades, so procedures for a firing squad will have to be established and published.
But the message stands. The man who opened fire on his own troops is going back to the same base to face a firing squad. Not a delay. Not a commutation. A date.