Fort Hood army base murder suspect Nidal Hasan awarded death sentence

The shooter accused of killing 13 and injuring more than 30 at the Fort Hood Army Base in the U.S. state of Texas in 2009 has been sentenced to death by a military jury after just two hours of deliberation.

Major Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist, offered little defense and sat motionless as the jury president read the verdict.

Hasan has said he acted to protect Islamic insurgents abroad from American aggression and never denied being the gunman, Fox News reports.

In opening statements, he acknowledged to the jury that he pulled the trigger in a crowded waiting room where troops were getting final medical checkups before deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to the report, Hasan was given a final chance to give a closing argument before his case went to the jury, but he declined.

The panel unanimously ruled that Hasan must forfeit all pay and allowances and be dismissed from the service.

The lead prosecutor, Col. Mike Mulligan, told jurors that history was full of instances of death in the name of religion, the report added.