Fort Hood shooter's execution to be livestreamed by firing squad

Summarised from 10 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 23:19 · Archive

Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, will be executed by firing squad on 3 December and the Pentagon will livestream it.

Nidal Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, will be executed by firing squad at Fort Hood, Texas, on 3 December. The Pentagon will livestream the execution, making it public, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Thursday. This will be the first US military execution in more than 60 years and the first by firing squad since the end of World War Two.

Hasan was convicted in 2013 of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others in a shooting at Fort Hood on 5 November 2009. The killings were the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base. At his court-martial, Hasan admitted he was responsible for the shooting and said he acted to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan, believing American soldiers should not deploy there.

Hegseth said in an interview with conservative outlet Real America's Voice that the execution was 'a no-brainer'. 'It's going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad,' he said, adding it would take place at 1pm, the same time Hasan opened fire. 'We'll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it's public, because people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things.'

When asked whether Hasan had made final requests or reached out to the Trump administration, Hegseth responded: 'Don't care.' The Pentagon clarified Thursday that the execution would be livestreamed, though it said more details would follow.

Investigators found that Hasan had exchanged emails with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical cleric later killed in a US drone strike, in the months before the attack. Hasan had been held at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas since his sentencing and exhausted his appeals last year, clearing the way for President Trump to approve the execution this week on Hegseth's recommendation.

Executions are sometimes witnessed by small groups including reporters and victims' family members, but a publicly viewable execution in the United States is virtually unheard-of in recent history. Retired Staff Sergeant Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot multiple times in the attack including in the head, told media he is preparing to watch the execution.

How it is being reported

• Nidal Hasan's firing squad execution will be 'public,' Hegseth saysU.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution of a former military doctor who killed 13 people in a mass shooting in 2009 would be "public."UPI · 8 Oct, 23:27
• Pete Hegseth says execution of Fort Hood shooter to be 'live streamed to public'The execution of the army officer who killed 13 soldiers will be live streamed in what has been labelled a "clear message" for the "public"The Mirror · 8 Oct, 23:04
• Fort Hood shooter’s firing squad execution to be livestreamed, Pentagon saysThe Pentagon said the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan would be livestreamed on December 3. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the execution would be public. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 in a 2009 shooting at the Texas military base.France 24 · 8 Oct, 23:01
• You will be able to watch Fort Hood killer be executed by firing squad on a livestream, Pentagon says'People need to understand that there are serious consequences for these types of things.'Metro · 8 Oct, 23:00
• Fort Hood shooter's execution by firing squad will be livestreamed, Pentagon says"We'll make sure that people are able to watch it," the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday.BBC News · 8 Oct, 22:55
• Hegseth says execution of Fort Hood shooter will be a public eventOfficials clarified execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, army psychiatrist who killed 13 people, will be livestreamed Pete Hegseth has said the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, will be a public event when the sentence is carried out later this year. Officials later clarified the execution will be livestreamed and that more details would follow, the Associated Press reported. In an interview with Real America’s Voice, the Pentagon secretary said the firing squad would carry out the sentence at Fort Hood, Texas, at 1pm on Thursday…The Guardian · 8 Oct, 22:46
• Hegseth says firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamedTrump’s defense secretary wants to ‘make sure that people are able to watch’ the ‘public’ killing of Nidal Malik HasanIndependent World · 8 Oct, 22:45
• Hegseth says Fort Hood shooter's execution will be made publicDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the public will be able to watch the firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the ex-Army major who was convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009.CBS News · 8 Oct, 22:42
• Pete Hegseth says firing squad execution of Fort Hood terrorist will be made 'public'The US government will broadcast the execution of a terrorist convicted of murdering over a dozen US soldiers in 2009, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday.Daily Mail · 8 Oct, 21:39
• Army mass shooter Nadal Hassan’s execution will be public, carried out by ‘soldiers with rifles’ at Fort Hood: HegsethThe defense chief said he believes it's important Hasan be executed on the Texas base where he carried out the mass murder.New York Post · 8 Oct, 21:11

In this story: Nidal Hasan · Pete Hegseth · Donald Trump · Fort Hood · Pentagon · Anwar al-Awlaki

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