Firing Squad Twist – Date Set

Wooden letter tiles spelling DEATH PENALTY on a dark background — Photo: frank333 / Shutterstock

The Army has set a date and time to execute the man who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.

Quick Take

Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad on December 3 at 1 p.m. Central time at Fort Hood, Texas.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the method, and President Trump approved it.
Hasan was sentenced to death in 2013 for the 2009 attack that killed 13 people and wounded 32 others.
This will be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 and the first by firing squad since World War Two.

Army Sets Exact Date And Time For Execution

An Army execution order dated October 6, 2026, names a specific moment for Hasan’s death: 1 p.m. Central time on December 3, at Fort Hood, Texas. The order did not come from nowhere. It follows a Pentagon announcement that same Monday, confirming Secretary Hegseth had recommended firing squad as the method and that President Trump had signed off on it.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell made the announcement public, framing it as the final step in a case that has stretched on for over 17 years. Families of victims received the news directly, by email, according to reporting that broke the story in Texas. The sentence itself is not new. A military jury handed down the death penalty back in 2013, following Hasan’s conviction at a court-martial for the 2009 shooting.

The 2009 Attack That Started It All

Hasan was an Army major and a psychiatrist stationed at Fort Hood when he opened fire inside a military processing center in November 2009. He killed 13 people and wounded 32 more before he was shot and stopped. The attack remains one of the deadliest shootings ever carried out on a U.S. military base. Hasan represented himself during parts of his court-martial, and the case drew national attention over how the Army initially classified the incident.

That 2013 death sentence has sat unresolved for more than a decade while appeals moved through the military justice system. Now, with the execution order signed and a date locked in, the case is entering its final chapter. Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle’s office confirmed the order, placing the responsibility for setting the time and place squarely within the Army’s own authority.

Why Firing Squad, And Why It’s Historic

No U.S. military execution has happened since 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged for rape and attempted murder. A firing squad hasn’t been used by the American military since 1945, when Private Eddie Slovik was shot for desertion during World War Two. Hasan’s case breaks that 65-year silence and revives a method many Americans assumed had been retired for good.

Firing squads carry deep roots in U.S. military history, dating back to the Revolutionary War and used through the Civil War and both World Wars for desertion and other capital offenses. Choosing this method for Hasan signals the Pentagon wants a clean, decisive end to a case that has lingered since 2009. Conservative voters who have long criticized the slow pace of military and federal justice will likely see this as accountability finally delivered, not delayed another decade by procedure.

What Could Still Change Before December

Legal observers note that further proceedings could still push the date back, even with Trump’s approval and a signed Army order in place. That possibility doesn’t undercut what has already happened: the recommendation, the presidential sign-off, and the scheduled date are all confirmed facts, not predictions. Whether the execution proceeds exactly as planned on December 3 remains to be seen, but the machinery is now fully in motion.

EX- ARMY NIDAL HASAN SET FOR DEC. 3 EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD AT FORT HOOD

The US Army will execute former Army Major Nidal Hasan by firing squad on December 3 for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 US soldiers and injured 32 others.

Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle… pic.twitter.com/ltD6ZgQvOX

— FXHedge (@Fxhedgers) October 7, 2026

For the families of the 13 killed and the dozens wounded that day in 2009, this announcement closes a chapter that has stayed open far longer than most violent crimes in America. The Army’s decision to use a firing squad, after more than six decades without a military execution, underscores how rare and serious this case has always been treated by the chain of command and now, by the commander in chief himself.