BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Western New York native who survived a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, is reflecting on the planned execution of the man responsible for a deadly attack at the military base in 2009.
Col. Patrick Miller, who grew up in Cattaraugus County, was wounded in a separate shooting at Fort Hood four years later. He says news of Nidal Hasan's planned execution is bringing back traumatic memories for people connected to the installation.
"The two shootings are so closely tied together, you know, four years apart," Miller said. "But on that same installation with a lot of the same people and a lot of the same traumatic memories."
Miller was in his office at Fort Hood in 2014 when he heard gunshots. As he entered the hallway, another soldier ran up to him and shot him in the stomach.
Miller made it back to his office, locked the door and applied pressure to his wound. Despite the severity of his injury, he remembers believing he would survive.
"I can control my breathing. I'm cognizant of the situation. I'm going to live," Miller recalled in a Dept. of Defense video.
Back in 2009, Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 others in the November 2009 shooting. He was convicted and sentenced to death.
President Donald Trump has announced Hasan will be executed by firing squad, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the execution will be made public. The Pentagon has said it will be livestreamed. If carried out, it would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961.
Col. Miller, now a commander at a military hospital in Louisiana, said Hasan's execution could bring some closure to the victims' families.
As an active-duty military officer, Miller said he must remain neutral on decisions surrounding Hasan's punishment. He said he does not plan to attend the execution, but will continue sharing his own story.
"It's a little therapeutic for me to share my story just personally," Miller said. "But I do it to raise awareness, to help others, to inspire others, and I'll continue to do that as long as I can."
Hasan's execution is planned for December, though further legal challenges could delay it.
