Fort Hood shooter's execution by firing squad will be livestreamed, Pentagon says

What the report says

BBC World News reports that the Pentagon plans to carry out the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former US Army major convicted in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, in a way that the public can watch. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be public and livestreamed, and a Defense Department official told the BBC that access would be provided online. The shooting at Fort Hood in Texas killed 13 unarmed US soldiers and remains the deadliest non-combat attack on an American military base.

The execution is scheduled for 3 December at Fort Hood and would be the first US military execution by firing squad since World War Two. BBC’s reporting says Pentagon officials have linked the decision to the severity of the crime, while also noting that military executions require presidential approval and final legal review before they can proceed. The article says Donald Trump approved the recommendation, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist from Virginia, admitted in court that he was the gunman and later said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The BBC also places the case in a broader context of recent US death penalty policy, noting Trump has supported capital punishment and restored federal executions after taking office again. The report adds that public and televised access to executions would likely raise legal and ethical questions, though it does not say whether any challenge has been filed.