Survivor of Fort Hood massacre says he agrees with executing terrorist by firing squad – but opposes Trump’s plan to livestream the killing

A former US Army sergeant who survived the Fort Hood massacre has backed the decision to execute gunman Nidal Hasan by firing squad, but raised concerns over plans to livestream the killing.

Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times during the 2009 attack, told the BBC he believed the ‘method is befitting’ for Hasan, arguing that alternative methods such as lethal injection would be ‘doing him a favor.’

Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, murdered 12 unarmed US soldiers and one civilian when he opened fire inside a medical building at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009.

Despite supporting the use of a firing squad, Lunsford insisted the execution should not be broadcast for public amusement, warning it was ‘not something you should view for entertainment purposes.’

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 Friday, he said he opposed showing the execution in full and without censorship to the general public.

‘To show the whole thing without it being censored for the general public, for me personally, I don’t agree with that, but it’s not about my personal belief,’ he said.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed that the public will be able to watch the execution via livestream, arguing that Americans should witness the consequences of such a horrific crime.

However, the unprecedented move may never come to pass, with legal experts telling the outlet that the execution could ultimately be blocked. 

If it does proceed, it would mark the first public execution in the US in nearly 100 years.

Lunsford said he feared the ‘effect’ and ‘message’ a livestreamed execution could have on younger viewers, but noted that survivors and the loved ones of those caught up in the massacre ‘should be able to look at it.’

‘I’m gonna be there [to watch in person], and before they pull the trigger, I want him to look at me in my eyes, and I look at him in his eyes, and I want him to know: “Dude, you failed, I’m still here,”‘ he continued.

‘I don’t really have any sympathy for him as far as firing squad vs lethal injection, hanging or gas chamber, because he didn’t have that same compassion when he did the deed on 5 November.’

‘I think the method is befitting for him because the lethal injection – that’s doing him a favor. Gas chamber? Is doing him a favor,’ he added.

Hasan said he launched the terror attack at Fort Hood because he was angry that American troops were deployed to Afghanistan and wanted to protect Islamic and Taliban leaders.

Hasan walked into a medical readiness building on the base in November 2009 carrying two guns and several magazines of ammunition. He shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’, Arabic for ‘God is great’, and opened fire on soldiers awaiting medical tests and vaccines.

The mass shooting, which killed 13 and left 32 wounded, was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in US history.

The Pentagon announced on Monday that Hegseth had recommended, and Donald Trump approved, his death by Army firing squad on December 3, the first military execution since 1961. 

On Thursday, it was announced that the execution will be live-streamed, and the move prompted swift backlash.

The UN human rights office said on Friday that broadcasting the killing ‘is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture.’

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy went further, asking on live television: ‘What is he mimicking? ISIS executions.’

The backlash crossed party lines, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis declaring that public executions are ‘what oppressive dictatorships like Iran and Afghanistan do.’

‘It should not be happening in America,’ the North Carolina senator wrote on X late Thursday, adding that streaming the death was ‘beyond disgusting.’