President Donald Trump has approved the military execution by firing squad of former Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who carried out the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood that killed 13 people.
Trump approved the firing squad execution for Hasan at the recommendation of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced in a post on X on Oct. 5.
"Judgement day has finally come," Parnell wrote.
The U.S. military hasn't carried out an execution since 1961, according to data kept by the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. That year, the U.S. hanged Army Pvt. John Bennett at a Kansas prison for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl.
Parnell said that Secretary of Army Adam Telle will set the time and place
of the execution.
A military execution involves putting to death a member of the U.S. armed forces. Hasan was a U.S. Army major who became radicalized and turned his gun on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas on Nov. 5, 2009. He was sentenced to death in 2013 following a court martial.
This is breaking news and will be updated.
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime and courts reporter who covers the death penalty, cold cases and breaking news for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump approves firing squad execution of Fort Hood mass shooter
