Fort Hood survivor supports gunman's execution by firing squad but questions livestream

Notably, a former US Army sergeant who survived the mass shooting on Fort Hood has remarked that while he supports the execution of the gunman by firing squad, he is concerned concerning it being livestreamed.

Key points

• Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 unarmed US soldiers in a medical building at Fort Hood, in Texas, in 2009.
• Democratic Senator Chris Murphy informed CNN it was "disgusting" while Republican Senator Thom Tillis stated public executions were what "oppressive dictators" did.
• According to But Lunsford, as a Christian, he has forgiven Hasan as "I cannot heal if I don't forgive him".
• When Hasan moved on, he grabbed a nearby wounded soldier and went outside, where Lunsford remarked Hasan came up behind them and shot him again.
• Hasan's execution was confirmed by the Pentagon earlier this week, in what will be the first military execution in more than 60 years.

Alonzo Lunsford, who was shot seven times, informed the BBC that the "method is befitting" for Nidal Hasan as other methods like lethal injection would be "doing him a favour".

But while Lunsford agreed with the method of execution, he remarked it was "not something you should view for entertainment purposes".

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, he remarked: "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." Firing squad execution to be livestreamed, Pentagon states.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth remarked the public will be able to view a livestream of the execution, saying it is notable for individuals to see the consequences of this kind of crime.

If it goes ahead, and legal experts informed the BBC it might not ever happen, it would be the first public execution in the US in almost a century.

When it comes to the survivors, their families and the families of the victims, they "should be able to look at it", lunsford explained that while he is concerned regarding the "effect" and "message" a livestream would send to younger residents.

"I'm gonna be there 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 remarked.

"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, " the former sergeant explained.

"I think the method is befitting for him since the lethal injection – that's doing him a favour. Gas chamber? Is doing him a favour."

"We're taught that with your last breath you can ask for forgiveness and I think that's what he should do, " he continued.

Telling his account of what happened that day, he remarked Hasan secured out of his chair and jumped onto a counter, before pulling out a weapon and discharging rounds.

Lunford remarked he was looking for an exit via the back door. It was "two or three strides" away from him when he was first shot above his left eye and then "hit two more times in my back" as he crawled behind a desk.

"At that point I played dead, " he remarked. When Hasan moved on, he grabbed a nearby wounded soldier and went outside, where Lunsford remarked Hasan came up behind them and shot him again.

According to One memory he, "bothers" him from the day was of a woman who informed Hasan she was pregnant.

"We heard a gunshot and the last thing that girl was saying was: 'Oh my god, my baby, my baby.'".

Lunsford remarked personnel don't carry weapons in medical facilities, and that Hasan "took the coward's way out" to attack them there.

"And then for him to say he is fighting for his cause? I've read the Quran, and everything that he remarked he was doing that was in the Quran is not backed by the Quran, " he explained.

Legal experts have informed the BBC there are a number of hurdles around the livestreaming of this which could mean it is successfully challenged in court. Some politicians have been vocal in their opposition.

"It should not be happening in America, " he continued in a post on X., external.

In short, fort Hood survivor supports gunman' s execution by firing squad but questions livestream is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.